Shattered Mirror, Poisoned Rose
by Cun
Summary: I used to have everything. Money, fame, a bright and promising future. But it was all fake, a role handed to me by my father. One I refused to play any longer. Now all I have is a demonic partner and a newfound purpose in life: I will cleanse Remnant to fit by my judgment. And Atlas will be first. Vengeful!Weiss and Demon!Ruby is on a quest.
1. Act 1: Chapter 1

**A/N:** I wanted to write a fluffy, romantic, light-hearted Whiterose fic because, I'd really like to try my hand on a romance story. It's something I've never done before, after all!

And then this happened.

It's not fluffy, romantic, or light-hearted, but it _is_ a Whiterose story. I regret nothing.

This story was in part inspired by Greatsnapper's Railgun story, "Screwed Up", and he also provided a great many ideas for me to work with. Another inspiration are the many great "dark/evil Ruby" stories out there. I'm weak to those things, I admit it.

So, for this story, I have some grand plans, and you can expect a lot of turmoil for our main characters. But whether or not we get there relies on a number of things. Depending on feedback, interest, and most of all, myself, the update pace will vary.

For now, we start here.

 **Warning:** **This is M-rated for a reason.**

 **Pssst...** this hasn't been betaed, so feel free to alert me to any typos or grammatical oddities.

* * *

 **Act 1: Chapter 1**

The club was gritty, loud and dark, perfect for those in search of less than respectable company for less than respectable purposes. Like me, I suppose. Nobody gave me a second glance here, what with the blinking lights and loud music churning in everyone's ears. A place I hated immensely had suddenly become important, it was almost worth a chuckle.

If my father saw me now, he'd have me scalped. And that made my heart beat even more eagerly. I was doing the exact opposite of what that tyrant wanted, and it felt _so good_.

Slipping through the throng of sweaty bodies crowding the dance floor, my eyes flicked across the dark ends of the room, where small tables and soft chairs made up the majority of the furnishing. A girl in vibrantly scandalous clothing stood out amongst the other sluts. Her hair in twintails and what looked like a slender tail lazily moving about behind her. Rollerskates? And of course, she was grinding the lap of a guy in a vest and fedora.

Students, most likely, and judging by their antics, exactly the kind I wanted.

Because, even though I wasn't exactly thrilled at the display, I did recognize something in the girl's behavior. It was too animated and random, if throwing her head back in a massive giggle while grinding her boyfriend was anything to go by. I did recognize the symptoms though. Several bottles, some of which had spilled, adorned the table beside them. There was one different from the rest. No label, but a fiery red pill lay atop the lid, almost entrancing in its tiny little gleam.

Anger reared its ugly head and I fought back a sneer, lest my face twist in an unappealing grimace.

Selecting the duo as my target, I quickly slipped between sweaty bodies, shuffling feet and loud laughter, easing my way through the throngs towards their table. The guy lounged in one of the soft chairs, with the girl straddling his hips. He had one hand on her butt and the other on a bottle of beer.

I stepped up to the pair and cleared my throat.

"Excuse me," I said, plastering a small smile on my lips. Not too exaggerated, I didn't want to look eager.

The girl whipped around to look at me, alcohol-dulled eyes brightening.

"Ohmygosh you're amazingly beautiful! Look, look Flynt!"

"I'm looking." He glanced up from behind his sunglasses. Always classy, are we? Even if it looked ridiculous in a dark place like this. Obviously, the dark was doing wonders to their judgment of me as well.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me." I eyed the pill on the bottle quite obviously, before looking back at them. The girl might be too drunk to care, but there was something in _his_ eyes that spoke to me. A lust and hunger.

He'd want payment and I would provide it.

"Depends," he said, tilting his glasses down slightly. "What do you want?"

"Aaaww Flynt, you know what she means," the girl slapped his shoulder playfully. "She's just to shyyyyyyyyyyyy to ask directly." Then she swerved around and brought her face close to mine. "Of course we'll help a cutie like you~"

He gestured at the table and the bottle of pills. "All I got is red, right now. You used it before?"

"Oh, I am very familiar with dust, actually." If I could burn every single speck of it and watch my father's fortune go up in flames at the same time, I'd be thrilled. How ironic that would be. I almost let my smile slip into a smirk, but a business talk was no place for personal fantasies. "How much for two?"

He hummed, eyeing me quite thoroughly. "You. You're the Schnee girl, ain't you? Weiss Schnee, the singer?"

"That's right," I smiled sweetly, internally seething. Hoping nobody would recognize me was too much after all, but it didn't matter now. "Actually, my friend and I were hoping for some fun tonight. She's already waiting for us upstairs."

His eyes lit up. Perfect score.

"Really. The famous poster-face of the Schnee Dust Company, at a dance club. Hitting up some bites."

"Woah, we found a celebrity! That's amazing, you're amazing, Flynt!"

"Why, can't I have some fun every once in a while?" I smiled, putting as much humor into it as I could muster. "As you may imagine, even I don't have easy access to this type of dust." Of course, the practice of turning dust into pill form was well known to the company. In fact, they'd made quite the profit for a while. I had heard father laugh about it with his guests, how he was earning money on people's desire to ruin their own lives. But then the drug was banned and the amount of dust a single person could buy for personal use severely limited in order to strike down the illegal operation.

Which was when the robberies started. Father was furious. Now, dust vanished from right underneath his nose instead. It made him increasingly angrier at the council, the dust mines, the transports, and everyone else unlucky enough to be in his presence. It had only made my own situation that much worse, and I was far from the only victim of this whole ordeal.

These drugs were the root of many problems.

In front of me, Flynt cocked his head. "Alright, Schnee. Bring your friend down here and we'll get to business."

"Hmmm. I would love to, but she's a bit shy. Maybe I can bring the pills up first? I'm sure a little fire would… _warm_ her up." I made sure to smile just enough to cover my ill thoughts lest they bleed into my expression.

Obviously, his interest was genuine, I just had to play it right. And sure enough, the prospect of getting paid in the flesh worked. He grunted and stood, the girl giggling as she twirled around me on her skates. I moved my foot just in time to avoid a flat toe.

He collected the bottle and stuffed it into his vest, hidden from view. Obviously he was the boss of the club if he could leave them on display like that. Well, he did look fashionable enough, and those in possession of dust pills were usually at the higher spectrum of society.

I don't know how many like him I've shot down in the past. For once, my curiosity reared its head. I wondered what it'd be like, actually indulging him. Morbid curiosity, maybe?

"Alright, Schnee. Show the way."

The music thudded in my chest as we moved through the room towards the stairs. The guy was steady as a cliff, but the girl kept twirling around. If not for him, she'd probably have vanished on a whim. She was obviously under the effect of _something_. I hoped Ruby wouldn't mind.

The club's second story was just a platform overlooking the dance floor, with a railing that invited daredevils into trying their drunken tricks. The music was just as obnoxious, if not as loud. Several couches with high backs made up some semi-private booths, most of which were already occupied. Groaning and moaning and shuffling bodies made no secret of what was going on in there. Luckily, the high couch backs and sides formed a protective wall which spared my eyes.

I swallowed, muscles tense as I approached the booth at the very far end. Silver eyes glinted in my direction, lighting up in glee as she saw who I'd brought.

Ruby Rose, fifteen. Too young to enter a night club, but a bit of lien and a lot of charm handled that easily. The girl jumped up from her seat, black skirt and red hoodie completing a somewhat tomboyish look.

"Ooooooh she's cuuuuuuute!" The cat faunus – if that's what she was – squealed, waving her tail excitedly.

Flynt, the obviously more sober of the two, hungrily eyed the newest addition to his metaphorical harem. "I can dig it."

Your own grave? Why, certainly.

"Really?" Ruby chirped, beaming like a child. She had to be at least two years younger than anyone else in this club. At least, she could fool anyone into believing that.

Hands at her back, she circled around us, as if appraising a car she considered buying. Even when her eyes weren't focused on me, I knew I was being observed too. Apparently, I was the desired blueprint everyone else should live up to.

"Ruby, this is Flynt." I introduced.

"He's not just Flynt, he's Flynt _Coal_! The one and only!" Faunus-girl giggled.

Ah, that explained it. So glad to know my aristocrat senses hadn't dulled.

"And I'm Neon Katt!" The girl continued, twirling on the spot, showcasing her lithe build and flat stomach.

"Hmmm." Ruby had passed us in a complete circle, and her eyes lingered on the cat girl. I could tell by the gleam there, that she'd chosen. The air around us vibrated with hunger. Or maybe that was me and my anticipation.

I turned to Flynt, readying myself for the next part of the plan. One of my criterias, actually. If it were up to Ruby, we'd be caught the instant we set foot in here, what with her boisterous attitude. I set some ground rules, because I felt that was in its place. After all, the dunce didn't even think about consequences when she first let loose.

"Is this good enough?" I asked Flynt, indicating our offered payment.

To my surprise, he grabbed my wrist, and before I knew it, my back was pressed into one of the couches in the booth. He was above me, holding my hands trapped.

"Hey Schnee," he started, "did you know? I was into music, once." His eyes gleamed under his sunglasses, his larger body trapping me beneath him on the couch. I tugged against his hold, but there was no use.

"I was doing pretty good too. Maybe you know the name, Killer Quartet?"

I stopped my pointless struggle, glaring up at him. "Of course. They were quite popular."

"That's right. We even topped the good lists for a while." I knew what was coming, even before his eyes darkened with anger. "Until your manager ripped the group apart."

Naturally. Having anyone but Weiss Schnee at the very top was beneath my father, and my manager, and the Schnee Dust Company as a whole. And so, we paid off the Killer Quartet manager in order for him to plant distrust between the members, and soon they dissolved in quite the dramatic manner.

Of course I knew. I'd been interviewed for days about the sudden breakup and how it would impact my own career.

What did it even matter now? That was another life. Before my father decided to throw me aside.

Before I met Ruby.

"How sad," I smirked at him, "you became a victim of the cruel world and now you want revenge."

His large hand grabbed my breast and squeezed, forcing a hiss of pain from my lips. I could feel his crotch throbbing against mine through our clothes, his shirt stretching across his shoulders in a snug fit. He was two heads taller than me and far more buff. I stood no chance in a battle of strength.

"Wow, you're angry."

Such luck that I didn't need to.

Ruby sat on the table beside us, watching us humorously with eyes that glowed in the dark.

There was no sign of Neon.

"Are you going to hurt her?" Ruby asked, swinging her feet back and forth.

Completely unaware of _what_ he was currently facing, Flynt flashed a cocky grin without looking away from me. His hand rubbed my chest and all I could do was glare back, while my heart thudded thunderously.

He obviously didn't feel the predatory intent pressing on around us. Perhaps he was more drunk than I thought.

"Don't worry, it's your turn next, kid." He released my hand to fumble with his belt, another kind of hunger overtaking his gaze.

"Hmm." Ruby cocked her head. "Nope. I don't feel like waiting."

His eyes widened in surprise as a slender hand gripped the back of his collar and pulled him up from me, as if he weighed nothing. He didn't more than turn his head before Ruby's fist connected with his face.

 _CRUNCH_

His nose exploded under the impact, blood gushing down his front. He clasped both hands over his broken face and reeled backwards, hitting the couch's wall behind him. I pushed myself up and pulled away, both to avoid the spray of blood and to create some safe distance between us.

The air pulsed inside the booth, originating with the insatiable hunger which rolled off of Ruby in waves. Without actually changing in any visible way, the sweet girl shifted into something else, something dark and inhuman. Slowly, her tongue trailed over the drops of blood staining her knuckles. If I didn't know what she truly was, I'd have reacted just like Flynt.

"What the fuck!?" He roared, lunging forward in blind rage and grabbing Ruby by her arm, rearing his own fist back for a punch. I clenched an eye shut on reflex, but needn't have bothered.

His fist hit nothing but ash. Like flower petals, the black flakes fluttered around him, bringing a scent of burnt flesh.

There was a flash, which got lost in the lights of the dance floor beneath us.

Then his chest exploded. I barely managed to raise my arm in time; the heat and fire washed across my skin and singed the couch, starting a smolder that promised nothing but chaos.

Flynt didn't scream. No air escaped his lungs, mostly, I guessed, because they were no longer working. The bottle of dust pills he'd kept inside his vest had ripped the skin from his torso and sliced through muscles like a knife. Probably crushed his ribcage with the detonation too, puncturing his lungs and heart. Half of his body was already mutilated by the explosion, and angry burns covered the rest.

Torn pieces of cloth drifted through the air as the black ash reformed behind him, once more revealing Ruby in all her terrifying glory. I just barely caught a glimpse of her amused grin before she grabbed Flynt by his throat and hoisted him up above her.

"No!" I shouted, and just in time. Annoyed silver flashed in my direction, but then she dropped him, instead of throwing him out of the booth like she'd planned.

"You're no fun, Weiss," she pouted.

"Just get over with it, we're already attracting attention!" I hoped not, hoped that the music drowned most of it, but there was no way continued screams and shouts and _explosions_ would go unnoticed, even among the drunk and drugged guests in the club.

Which was exactly what she wanted. Ruby's lips split into a wide grin, revealing teeth too sharp to be human. She _loved_ attention. I just wished she'd show some tactical intelligence sometimes.

We weren't here to wreck the entire club. I'd told her before we entered, and she'd promised to listen, however disgruntled it had been.

Which is why, instead of terrifying the entire club with a display of bloodlust, Ruby simply grabbed Flynt by the shoulder and head, exposed his neck, and dug her teeth into it. The glow in her eyes grew until they were just wells of silvery light, power flooding the air around her and causing my skin to spike into goosebumps.

Flynt's face contorted into a silent grimace of anguish as black veins spread along his skin, across his throat and arm, up his face and over his destroyed torso. Even if he were still alive, it didn't matter for much longer.

The skin beneath Ruby's teeth dissolved into black ash which slowly disintegrated completely, and seconds later, the rest of his body followed.

Flynt Coal was no more. His ashes vanished in thin air, and in his place stood Ruby, eyes still aglow as she licked her lips like a rabid dog. I felt like my chest was about to burst as well. Right now, right after feeding, she was at an absolute high. If need be, I'd have to restrain her from finding more prey, and I wasn't sure I could.

"Was that fine?" I tried pulling her attention to me.

Her eyes roved over me, and despite us being roughly the same size physically, she seemed so much bigger right then. For a second all I could focus on was the fangs and the pulsating darkness lingering on the edge of my vision.

Then, Ruby smiled, dispelling all of the dread and pressure.

"This is fine for now!"

I breathed out in relief. At least, that meant I could maybe get some sleep tonight. Hunting down targets was exhausting even without a lack of sleep, thank you very much.

"Well," I said, getting to my feet, "someone will be checking on that explosion soon enough. Way to go and blow our cover, you dunce."

"Ugh." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Let me have a _little_ fun! Whatever. If we don't get to play here anymore I don't wanna stay." She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the booth. I straightened what I could of my outfit, but some blood and flecks of soot had still gotten on it. I scrunched my nose in distaste. Luckily, the darkness of the club worked in my favor, and my fur coat still hung in the wardrobe. It covered what needed covering.

The bouncers eyed us as we exited, but none tried to stop us. We were just two girls leaving a club.

Outside, the cold night of Atlas enveloped us once more. My breaths created puffs of mist in the air. Beside me, Ruby hummed in satisfaction, almost drowning in the red cloak she insisted on wearing. It didn't even look particularly warm. But then, I suppose demons didn't need warmth.

In a way, it was ironic. A demon was prowling the streets of Atlas. Right now, it was no more than a gust of wind, but with my help it would soon turn into a full blown tornado. Just like Atlas itself, preying on the weak was her main sustenance. Although according to Ruby, stronger souls made for more potent meals.

I suppose I should be scared, appalled, terrified. In fact, I should be dead before any of that. This demon had listened when I screamed, when no one else did, and then, she'd proposed something I couldn't decline.

I help her, she helps me, and together, we'll reach both our goals. All I saw, now like then, was an opportunity. And I would use it the way only I, Weiss Schnee, could.

By my hands, Atlas would be purged.

And my father's company would be the first to fall.

* * *

 **A/N:**

If you enjoyed this, stay tuned for more. That includes more violence/gore, more background on Weiss and Ruby (and others, as we go along), and more about the setting. And more plot, of course.

If you didn't enjoy this, go! Leave, and save your innocence! *insert half-assed attempt at an evil laugh*

On a more writer's aspect focus kind of thing, I went with first-person point of view for Weiss here. This was with the idea that this viewpoint would place the reader more "right in the middle of it" then a third-person POV would. Is it working? I dunno, but there will be some third-person segments scattered throughout as well, when we visit the POV of other characters.

Also, describing death and gore is an interesting writing exercise, just because it's different.

What did you think about this pilot chapter? Let me know!


	2. Act 1: Chapter 2

**A/N:** Wow, I'm floored by the feedback on this thing so far! Thank you so much for the support! If you really like this, spread the word! Demon Ruby needs more souls to feed on.

So this turned out far longer than I thought, but here is chapter 2! Also known as exposition from hell... seriously, there are so many tiny details in this chapter that I ached over for such a ridiculously long time. Looking yourself blind on your own writing is a very real thing. Tell me if something is off, incredibly unclear, or somehow complete nonsense, okay?

* * *

 **Act 1: Chapter 2**

Calling 3am _morning_ would be criminal, but the fact was that General James Ironwood was already in his uniform, and in the middle of the street in one of Atlas's less ideal neighborhood. Instead of having his morning coffee at 6:45 as was the norm, he stood there watching the proceedings of an investigation.

Why did crimes have to happen at night when every respectable human still lay asleep?

Ah, there's the answer. These weren't human.

He hid a yawn behind a fist and wondered idly if the council would agree to ban 3am altogether.

That or, impose a stricter curfew on the faunus population.

Normally the General wouldn't have bothered with a petty crime and would simply let the police force handle it, but this particular case had warranted for the council's attention. And, lucky man as he was, he held two seats on the council.

The alley in front of him was a grotesque sight. He wished he could say it was the first time he saw anything like it, but sadly, for the general of Remnant's greatest army, handling death was something of a norm. Another reason why this had been dumped in his lap from the other council members, plus he was ultimately responsible for Atlas and Mantle's security forces after all.

General Ironwood observed as the medical personnel hurried past him with another body wrapped in black plastic. Three, this time. One human, two faunus, or that was the assumption. It wasn't exactly easy to tell, but two of them had tails and the third did not, nor did he have any visible animal traits on what remained of his head. The pool of liquid had actually seeped between the cobblestones, out of the alley and into the main street. Judging from the smell, it wasn't just blood.

The alley was narrow, and on either side stains of the same substance covered the walls. Police officers were already snapping pictures, flashes lighting up the pitch black darkness.

"General!" Winter Schnee came to stand at attention by his side. Her heels snapped together with a satisfying _click._ As always, the oldest Schnee daughter put their environment to shame with her presence. Dazzling white hair looked almost luminous in the moonlight. "I spoke with the lead detective, sir. It's another dust case."

"You couldn't tell from the wall art?" He smiled thinly. "Do we have any names?"

"Only one was still identifiable, sir, and none of them had scrolls. They're bringing him to the lab for analysis as we speak, I believe we'll have a name come morning."

How anyone thought sniffing fire dust was a great idea was beyond him. A single sneeze and that kick they longed for became their end. It was like setting off a grenade in your nose. The fire dust was Ironwood's least concern however, anyone could grab a vial from any dust shop as long as they didn't try to buy more than regulation allowed.

The syringes was another matter.

"Any hope he'll be able to tell us where they got it?"

"Sir, his jaw was… detached." She was obviously trying to say it without indulging the entire truth. Maybe she was denying the gruesome scene for what it was, a perfectly natural human reaction. Truth was, his jaw was entirely gone. Once one explosion set off, fire dust had the unfortunate effect of reacting to the heat and force, creating a domino effect. The surviving man no longer had a chin.

"He can still write, I suppose."

"He's comatose, sir."

"Then Polendina can still get something useful out of his brain. Assuming it's not here with the others."

"Sir."

Alright, that joke had been a bit on the crude side. "I'm sorry, Winter, yesterday was a long day and I barely had any sleep. I still have a handful of reports to complete when I come home. Good thing I have no family waiting." He could almost hear Glynda's voice in his head; _now that's just sad._

Well, he did have that bottle of Mistralian whiskey.

"Sir. Your shoe."

He glanced down. His white shoe had a dark splotch near the tip. Ah. The curse of being fashionable.

"Winter. Remind me to buy new shoes tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir. There was one more thing, sir. There was a reported fire in a night club earlier. The source of the fire was most likely red dust pills detonating in a couch."

The general sighed. That whiskey would be a necessity at this rate. He wasn't a drunk bastard like Qrow, but he _could_ appreciate the need to… tune out, every now and then.

"Set up a meeting with Polendina as soon as he wakes up," he told her. "We need to crack down on this farce before it gets any more out of hand. I don't need anymore of my citizens in the hospital or worse. Polendinas newest project might be just what we need to strike this down swiftly, I know he's excited to try it out."

At the lack of an answer, he glanced at the young woman. Her brow was furrowed, deep in thought.

"Was there something else, Schnee?"

She blinked, startled out of her thoughts. "Well, sir… it's just a rumor. According to the report, some of the witnesses stated something… worrying." She stopped talking and though he waited, it seemed words had failed her.

"What's wrong, Winter?"

She eased up a bit at the more relaxed tone.

"Some of the witnesses, albeit drunk at the time, said they saw a white-haired girl talking to one of our students. His name is Flynt Coal, and they were seen not long before the fire started. Apparently, he's known for selling the pills."

"Hmm. I suppose I'll have a talk with the staff about student discipline. And Flynt too. He's got a good head on his shoulders, it'd be a waste for him to fail before he's even finished his first semester." Although that faunus friend of his was another story.

Winter seemed to gather herself and straightened up, stiff like a rod as always. Maybe he should invite her for some of that whiskey too.

"Sir, I was actually hoping that I might be allowed to look into this further. If that girl really was Weiss, I… I need to speak with her."

Family matters. Again, Glynda's face glared at him in his mind and almost made him chuckle. For a woman with no kids, she sure was stubborn at defending their qualities.

"It's already been two weeks, hasn't it?" He turned towards the troubled Specialist. "I can't spare many resources for a missing person search, not when Jacques himself opposes the idea. But if you happen to find something while looking into this dust case, you are free to pursue it in your free time."

"Thank you, sir."

Winter saluted again and marched off, leaving him to gaze into the dark alleyway. Two of the officers were plucking remains from the walls with gloved hands and large tweezers. They dropped each new piece into clear plastic bags. Patches of skin, some still with hair attached to it, and bone shards for the most part. The rest would be washed away once the evidence gathering was over.

It was intriguing how people always found ways to add more unease for themselves. Even if the huntsmen and huntresses were to remove every Grimm from the face of the planet humans would still find ways to inflict self-harm.

And what hypocrisy of him to judge them, whose very job existed for the sole purpose of handling those threats.

The general smirked humorlessly and raised his eyes to look at the shattered moon above. Its floating debris looked like pieces of a puzzle no one could solve.

XXX

Cold nights were something I had long since grown accustomed to, but even so, waking to a warm body pressed into mine was not an entirely unwelcome feeling.

The flash of pain, however, was.

Ruby wasn't just sleeping _beside_ me, she was sprawled all over my body like a she wanted to chain me to the ground. At some point during the night she'd stuffed her face into the crook of my neck. Soft hair tickled my chin and her chest pressed against mine. I'd made just a tiny movement and that's when it flared, a sharp stab from my shoulder.

I tried to move my shoulder and found I couldn't. When I did, Ruby grunted and followed the motion like she'd been glued onto my skin. Wait...

—!

"Ruby, get off!" I grabbed her shoulders and pushed, suddenly and violently, flinging the demon aside and ripping her fangs from my shoulder in the process. She yelped in response, and dazedly stared at the roof of our flimsy little shack while I scrambled to get up and away.

Clutching my shoulder, I seethed at the sleepy dolt. "You absolute idiot! What are you even doing, you incompetent moron? You _bit_ me!"

She blinked and sat up, and I saw her lick her fangs before a pout came my way. "I can't help it, you smell so good!"

"I don't want to have my soul ripped out in my sleep, you complete dunce!"

"What, I'd never do that! We're partners!"

"And that means I'm _not_ some – some _snack_ you can just chew on whenever you feel like it!" I tried to sound angry, instead of scared, but I'm pretty sure my heartbeat was audible over my yelling.

Ruby was just sputtering helplessly. "Wha – but I didn't even hurt you!"

"I'm _bleeding_!"

"Yeah well _sorry_ for being a little hungry." She folded her arms and looked away indignantly, as if _she_ was the one who'd been wronged. "It's not myfault you taste so good, you know. Besides, it's not like I haven't bitten you before."

"That was different and you know it." The mark she'd put on me as a symbol of our contract was hidden beneath my sleeve, and that's where it'd stay. Yes, that had required a bite, but that was before I knew what her bites could _really_ do.

Luckily the wound wasn't deep, but the fact that I'd pushed her off had caused the skin to rip open into thin slices of red. I used Ruby's red cape to wipe away the blood, not that she minded. We were already using it as a makeshift bed, just to get off the ground.

Our day was just beginning, and I was already in a foul mood. When we finally left the shack, the sun glittered in the snow crystals on the landscape around us.

I'd looked forward to leave the Schnee manor and see the rest of Atlas. Sadly, this was no hotel room or handy, abandoned house, and so far, my experience had been… lacking. All we got was a distasteful shack in the middle of Atlas's least attractive apartment complex: The landfill.

Yes, my name is Weiss Schnee, the famous singer who vanished from the face of the planet quite suddenly. Why yes, I _do_ live here, do you want to see my extensive collection of old syringes and unidentifiable pieces of someone else's life?

Granted it wasn't just _any_ landfill, it was Atlas and Mantle's old _combined_ landfill, which meant it was huge for one thing. Atlas of course had a much more sophisticated system in place these days, which made the old dump more or less unused at this point.

"Weisssssss…"

I rolled my eyes without awarding Ruby with a glance. Not only was I still mad at her, but I had more than enough with looking before setting my feet down.

While unused by the government, abandoned was not the right word for this place. I had never imagined that the old landfill hosted an entire community of homeless people. Just being here felt like a crime, what with tired, sunken eyes looking at my fur cloak as if they wanted to eat it. It probably held more substance than most of the food they could find too.

After Ruby had made short work of about a dozen of them the first day though, everyone held their distance. It had also landed us a questionable partnership with a man I'd otherwise never approach by a mile.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No, not _at all_."

"Oh, that's go—"

"Of courseI am!"

"But it was just a little taste!"

Why was this creature unable to understand that was the entire problem? And why was I secretly enjoying this pointless squabble? I guess I was _really_ starved on human interaction.

Right. _Human_.

Demon or human however, I still found myself indulging that little part of me that didn't wish for silence to return. Even if I _was_ mad at her for nearly ending my life.

"Why can't you eat normal food, like a normal person?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

A loud sigh expelled from her mouth like a groan. "I'm not a normal person, you know."

"You look like one."

"Except I have fangs."

"So I noticed."

"...soooo, still mad?"

" _Yes_ , Ruby, I am _still_ mad, and if you don't stop asking, I'll get even _more_ mad. You are _not_ allowed to bite me and that's final!"

She growled and kicked a porcelain sink, which shattered on impact. Sharp pieces flew through the air and rained down on some hobo's makeshift campfire. He squealed and scuffled off, leaving the precious flames behind.

I did turn my head this time, observing my miffed partner.

"You still haven't cleaned out this place, so why don't you do that while I talk to Roman?"

Her eyes glinted at the mention of the name, but her mouth turned upside down in a pout.

"They taste _terrible_."

"But there are a lot of them. Besides, finding them all is almost like a hunt in itself, right? I thought you liked that."

"Well, yeah! I like hunting because it makes normal people terrified, but these guys are just _broken_. No matter what I do, they just don't get as scared as I want. Plus, do you really expect me to bite into those nasty things? They haven't showered in _years_!"

What a highly intelligent observation, should I be worried of her brain overloading?

"If you haven't noticed, Ruby, this place isn't exactly a hotel." Actually, just the fact that I couldn't even sleep in a hotel room was enough reason to pay my father a little visit. His control over my life even reached beyond the manor grounds and into my bank account, it was infuriating in more ways than one. Both the fact that he could control me, and that I was a slave to his money.

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Then _don't_ eat, but this is a one-time offer. We _are not_ going to wipe every single face off of Remnant, so don't expect a buffet again any time soon. And know that I will be very cross if you ruin the meeting."

"Weissssss. We had a deal." She spoke through gritted teeth now. I wondered if she'd actually throw a tantrum if I continued berating her.

"And I have done nothing but uphold it. I even found you a double meal last night."

I slid down the hill of garbage. I was starting to regret my decision to come out here. If we'd just gone straight for father that day, all this hiding and shady work would be unnecessary. At the time, however, I couldn't risk us getting in over our heads, and now things were of a different standing. Ruby might have proven capable enough when she actually listened, but ever since mother's unfortunate accident (and what a read _that_ news story had been), father's personal security had been upped significantly. We'd lost our initial chance, and would have to find another way.

According to Ruby, that way was directly connected to how much she could eat.

She scoffed and jumped down the slope of trash in a single leap, landing beside me with a disgusting _squiissh_ from the surface below us.

"Well, I guess that was a good meal," she sighed, "I just wish we could go for bigger targets already. If only I had Crescent Rose we'd totally whoop ass, but I can't even summon it!"

She hadn't stopped talking about her 'sweetheart' since we met.

"And when _do_ you think you can call out this fantastical weapon of yours?"

She kicked away a handful of trash. "Maybe… five more meals?" She immediately scowled and glared at me. "And not those crappy rags I had the first time we came here. That was terrible!"

"That's not very nice of you. They are human too, just like me."

"Weiss." Slowly, her lips parted in a fang-flashing grin. "Nobody compares to you~ I bet if you'd let—"

"No."

Ruby sulked the rest of the way.

XXX

Atlas was a modern city, and the most technically advanced kingdom in all of Remnant. That meant a lot of impressive buildings had been raised over the years, ranging from libraries with award-winning designs to towering skyscrapers that challenged the laws of gravity. However, just like stains on a cloth, no city could completely weed out the scum. The city may have extensive security measures and surveillance in place, but it was as if that only encouraged criminals to take up the challenge.

Roman Torchwick was one such man, and it pained me to have to deal with him. His cunning attitude and fabulous style didn't falter even in the darkness of a run-down old dust processing shop. The smell of old dust stained the walls and I felt dirty just entering the place, not to mention touch any of the machines.

Really, though, how _did_ he keep that coat so clean without a maid?

"Say aaaaah~" His sickeningly sweet voice met us first, before I had the questionable pleasure of seeing what he was doing. We entered what had once been a production hall, littered with dusty old machines and office desks. Beside one of the ancient machines, one designed to essentially crush dust crystal into its powdery form, Roman was leaning over one of the creaking office chairs. In it sat a young man in worker's clothes. The young man was tied to it with ropes surrounding his chest and arms. The crippled remains of a pair of ears stuck up from his head, and sunken eyes glanced over at us as we entered the room, but no hope sparked in the glossy pupils.

Faunus mistreatment at its finest, I see.

He didn't even jerk when Roman inserted a needle into his upper lip, and made no sound as the orange-haired criminal proceeded to drag a thin thread through his flesh. Judging by the amount of blood staining the young man's chin and front, he no longer had a tongue to scream with.

Completely meaningless. This was the type of actions I wanted to condone. I felt nauseous, really, truly sick to my soul. I wanted to turn around and leave, or better yet, stick Roman into the machine beside him and watch him be crushed.

Beside me, Ruby nearly vibrated with tension. I looked over and frowned at the glowing hunger in her eyes. Grabbing her firmly by the wrist, I planted my glare on the man with the bowler hat and cane, the latter which leaned against the chair by his feet.

"Roman. What is this?" I ground out, barely able to restrain my disgust.

"Aaaaah, my favorite hobo and her little pet." He looked up with a smug grin, finishing his last stitch with a flourish. "I'm so glad you asked! This is my most recent piece. I call it _Contemplation_."

He gestured to the young man's mouth, halfway stitched shut with criss-crossing orange thread.

I had to focus on breathing. "And our deal?"

"Hmmmm. No, there's something a bit off on this side." He stroked his chin and observed the faunus as if he were assessing a piece of jewelry. Then, in a swift motion, he pulled a spring knife from his coat pocket and sliced the edge of his mouth open. A silent wail escaped the man as his face twisted in pain.

Ruby hissed. I clenched her wrist harder, willing her to stay calm. I knew her hunger spiked in the presence of such misery, but we were no match for Roman and his ever-present henchman.

Roman's faithful servant sat on a table beside her master and twirled her umbrella playfully. The blade was already halfway pulled out, as if she wished to show us the weapon. Even if I'd wanted, I couldn't punch him in the face right now, even less sic Ruby on him. I hadn't forgotten how their first meeting had ended.

From the very second we met, he'd tested us. Ruby had faced his little henchman in battle, only to be pinned down by the umbrella-wielding opponent. That was after they'd found us at the scene of murder in that landfill, so he knew very well what Ruby was capable of.

Ruby's reaction to his little torture session didn't go unnoticed either.

"Oh, did you forget to feed it before you came? I'd prefer to keep my fingers, you know. Or else I can't do this." Roman grinned and snapped his fingers. Behind him, his trusty henchman sheathed the blade of her umbrella. Human or not, it didn't matter; that one was dangerous. "And I already promised Neo this one."

I gestured at Ruby to back down as well. Animosity reeked off of her, but she obeyed. We were not to kill this man whose existence was the sole reason I still had a meal every day. Not until I said so, at least.

The very silent and very small woman with colors like ice cream smirked lightly in our direction. Her umbrella rested on her shoulder now, ready for deployment at a moment's notice. Brown and pink eyes lingered on me for only a second, before flitting to her real object of interest.

Yes, do ogle Ruby to your heart's content. I'm sure she'd love to indulge you in your twisted games. Actually, if we could make money off of bets on a bitch fight, that would be interesting.

Roman put his knife away and turned away from his art piece, leaving the man to bleed helplessly from his slaughtered cheek. The self-dubbed criminal mastermind pulled out a scroll and flourishingly swiped at it with a gloved finger.

"Well, you guys certainly made a show of last night," he said.

"What?"

"Listen girl, if I knew you'd let the place go up in flames I would have taken sliiiiiiiight precautions as to my own involvement in the whole ordeal." He turned the scroll around, which displayed a picture of flames licking at the night sky.

Great. I resisted the urge to glare at Ruby again while Roman continued speaking. "I mean, Atlas has a lot of potential, but I have a very tempting business proposal waiting for me in Vale, so I'd rather not end up in old Ironwood's cellar for the time being." He adjusted the bowler hat on his head and smirked. "I'm sure you feel the same way, little Miss Schnee."

"Do _not_ use that name." I hissed venomously.

"Ouch, _your_ bite is far more dangerous than the little poodle you tow around, sweetie."

Oh, how I looked forward to ridding myself of this nuisance. For now, I would calm myself by imagining him slowly being crushed to dust in that machine beside him. Hat and all. Yes, that helped slightly.

"Get to the point, Roman."

His face switched from amusement to business in less than a second. Finally. He picked up his cane and sauntered a little closer with a smirk in place. Obviously at ease even knowing what kind of beast stood beside me.

"Well, with that firework display, we took out his last dealer. That means, Mister King of Drugs himself will have to make a move now. Aaaand, once that head is gone, this King Taijitu will… vanish." He dramatically fluttered his fingers through the air.

"And a new will rise, right?"

"Don't look at _me_!" He put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "I am not interested in some little drug empire. I am only interested in his… suppliers, so to say."

"So what, you want us to track him down and kill him?" I didn't like it, one bit. I was no tracker, or fighter for that matter. What little swordplay I'd learned from Winter didn't even count as a performance act in the underworld of blood and betrayal I'd ended up in. It was only thanks to my own dedication that I even knew how to use my semblance. Father hadn't exactly been… encouraging, when it came to that aspect of my development.

Just because I'd once wanted to be a huntress didn't mean I enjoyed killing.

I would, however, use the power I'd acquired to ensure that proper people no longer would have to live in oppression and fear from my father's tyranny or those like him. Sadly, it meant I had to mingle with that very trash, for now.

Roman clicked his tongue. "Not _entirely_. There's more to doing business than just ridding yourself of your opponents, girlie. Though with your upbringing I shouldn't be surprised you think so."

I wished the roof would collapse on his head. Alright, so maybe I enjoyed a _little_ bloodshed, but only if they truly deserved it. Too bad most people did.

"Utilizing your resources is juuust as important," he continued, twirling his cane around. "So here's the plan. Our friend here was kind enough to share with us the location of Dust King's base of operation. You see, a King needs pawns, and this one was a catch indeed." He poked his cane into the forehead of his tortured victim. "So, I want you to go there, find him, and tell him you've got a wonderful business opportunity for him, one he can't refuse! He won't be able to say no now that all his pawns are cut off. Then, bring him here to me."

Squeezing my way into a drug dealer's lair sounded like anything but fun.

"That is far too dangerous," I said.

"What? I'm sorry, I think I got something in my ear." He stuck a finger in there and twisted it.

I gritted my teeth. "We aren't special agents! What if we're caught? Besides, if you couldn't tell, subtlety isn't really our thing." Thanks to a certain _dolt._

"Well then, just tell him you're whores, what do I care? Get him here!" With a vicious grin that didn't reach his steely gaze, Roman planted his cane on the floor with a threatening _clank._ "Sweetheart, you're in the business world now. In this world, we make deals with other people which we both profit from, and I seem to remember us having such a deal. You see, there's a rumor going around town about the sudden and unexpected retirement of the esteemed performer Weiss Schnee. What in the world happened to her, and where could she be right now? I'm sure your _dear_ daddy is wondering as well, right? And how about those gruesome murders we saw you commit on those poor, innocent people? Well, I _won't_ rat you out to the authorities, and in return you will do as I tell you to. I even pay you for it! It's really the best deal you can get!"

If there was a time to sic Ruby on him, this was it. But… the demon was completely lost in whatever state she'd entered upon first seeing that half-dead faunus boy. Cursed Roman for knowing to take advantage of our inexperience.

Besides, he wasn't _wrong_.

"Fine. But first, pay up."

"Mmm, I knew you Schnee kids would have a good business sense. Tell me, what _did_ happen to your allowance? Used it all on that fabulous coat of yours?" He teased, but pulled out a stack of lien.

If only he knew how close to the truth he was.

"I told you to drop the name." I stepped forward to grab the money, and immediately pulled back once I had them in my hand. We were like two warlords meeting at a standstill, with each respective army waiting for the signal to strike. I ignored his amused chuckle while checking the amount. It was all there. Two thousand lien for a life. Actually, make that two, or maybe more with the fire.

"Give me the information you have, and we will deliver the results," I said.

"Such fierce dedication. I could use a couple of effective workers like you two permanently, what do you say?"

I glared flatly at him. He grinned, shrugged, tapped his scroll, and my own beeped in my coat pocket. Obviously not _mine_. The first thing I'd had to do was to get myself a new one, and with Torchwhick's dubious connections he even forged me a new identity to go with it. This scroll and the fur coat had been my final purchases with Schnee money.

Having gotten what we came for, I turned to leave, only to stop once I realized Ruby had made no move to follow. She was still staring at the faunus, and didn't even flinch when I nudged at her sleeve.

Neo, the little demonic henchman, noticed too. With a smile on her lips, she jumped down from the table and sauntered over to the captured victim. All the while keeping her eyes locked on Ruby, she leaned in close, and stuck her tongue into the gash in his cheek.

Ruby _whimpered._

And then, Neo pulled her blade out and stabbed the man through the eye, popping it open in a gush of goo and impaling his head with such force that the tip of the blade protruded from his neck. His shell-shocked expression soon relaxed into one of finality as his mutilated mouth pulled one last, shuddering breath.

"Awww, already?" Roman complained, while I struggled to keep the bile down and to pull my own demon away. I couldn't even make her budge.

"Ruby!" I hissed at her, both in warning and pleading. The redhead didn't even react until the faunus sagged in his chair, as if the air finally went out of him.

"I could have eaten him," she said, so low that I barely heard it.

"They're doing it on purpose," I muttered back. "Don't play their games."

"He was in so much pain… uuugh I bet it'd have been amazing!"

"Ruby. Out. Now."

She finally turned and, with the largest pout I'd ever seen, trudged out like a beaten puppy.

"Oh by the way, do make sure you do this tonight, okay girls? I'm a busy man!" Roman's cheerful voice trailed after us, and I glared back at him one last time before snorting and leaving the room.

I couldn't wait for the day when I no longer had to perform to the wishes of others.

XXX

I had been in Mistral a few times as part of my music career, and each time blew me away.

Mistral was vibrant, colorful and festive. Walking in the streets there was like walking through a fireworks display, and everywhere one turned there was a smiling person, human or faunus alike. It may be dirty, but it was _alive._

Atlas was more or less the exact opposite. The streets were grey beneath the snow, treacherous ice hiding in plain sight and everything was incredibly, eerily silent. The houses were all alike, straight and sterile, as were the people. Depending on which part of Atlas you ventured, you'd either see businessmen in suits and women in expensive furs and dresses, or workers in dirty overalls.

Here, it was the latter. The industrial district _was_ the least exciting place in the entire city, but even a full blown party in Atlas was no more than fancy drinks and well-mannered talk about the recent politics – believe me, I knew.

People in this district looked like they lived in a waking nightmare, and when almost 70% of the population here worked in the Schnee dust mines, it's easy to understand why. Whether they sat and smoked a cigarette on the balcony of a tiny apartment, walked listlessly down the street chewing on some ungodly fast-food meal, or chatted with a shop owner about a potential purchase, they all carried an aura of dejection.

Even the holoscreens and blinking lights on the various buildings lining the streets seemed dull, somehow.

In fact, the most vibrant thing around was Ruby.

She more or less skipped out from the dead end where we'd found the sleeping siblings. Or rather, Ruby found them, apparently having smelled their fear from afar. Fear which, judging by their pleas, was caused by the fact that one of them was very sick. I opted to wait around the corner of the T-junction and in some ways, just hearing the sounds had been far worse. Ruby had decided to play with them, and hearing their screams and cries of anguish as the demon slowly broke each of their arms and legs in several different places…

I had to close my eyes and focus on breathing.

I'm sorry, I promise we'll choose our targets better once we get the chance. At least, their suffering would end far sooner this way.

Also, a fed Ruby was a happy Ruby, and meant a complete change in nature too. Or rather, with the hunger at bay, she allowed more of that vibrant personality she possessed to blossom.

"Ooooh," Ruby's eyes glinted gleefully as we passed a bakery. "I wanna taste donuts!"

I had already had my own fill for the day, and shook my head. "We don't have lien to spend on silly whims. Besides, I thought you couldn't eat normal food?"

"I can _eat_ it, it just doesn't do anything."

"Well, I say we focus on our objective and how to achieve it in the most efficient—"

"Ohmygosh a weapon store!" Ruby's flurry of burnt ashes cascaded around me as the girl zipped over to the window of a nearby store. Ruby pressed her face into the glass and oooh'ed like a child at a candy store.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, walking up beside her. "You can tear people limb from limb and now you're drooling over knives?"

"But Weiss, it's perfect! I can't use my powers without energy, but if I had a weapon I could just use that! I'd both save energy, _and_ have more toys to play with!"

"Those are _not_ toys, you know."

"Let's go inside!" She was already at the door.

I levelled a flat look at her. "You know, if you keep using your semblance like that, you're going to spend that precious energy of yours even faster and you're not listening." The door shut closed before I'd even finished talking, and Ruby was already ogling the displays of different throwing knives inside.

The shopkeep, an old man who looked like he might have wandered in there on mistake, scratched his balding head and continued dusting off the display cases. Teenage girls probably weren't his most common customers. I sighed and resigned myself to the fact that we'd be taking a break and browse around. I guessed humoring the little demon wouldn't hurt.

Ruby hummed to herself as she strolled along the displays, eyes lighting up at a particularly intricate design here or there, and gleamed in eager the sharper the edge looked. I found myself thankful that they were locked in behind thick protective glass, or she'd have probably started waving them around too.

"Oh wow, they even have collapsible gun-knives!" We stopped to admire a case of ridiculously expensive weaponry. "They are so cooool!"

Arms folded, I could only roll my eyes at her unashamed enthusiasm. "What is this, some demonic hobby of yours?"

"I used to tinker a lot with this kind of stuff," was the unexpected reply.

...What?

The girl who looked no older than fifteen leaned in closer to gaze at one large rifle-combined-woodaxe (which I supposed could be useful if you lived in the forest and had to fend off Grimm while chopping wood – as if anyone was that stupid in the first place).

I leaned in beside her, but rather than looking at the weapon, I glanced at Ruby. Her tousled short hair, silver eyes, slender face and chin. She looked so… normal. Anyone who saw us right now would see nothing but two girls, enjoying an afternoon together. We even looked the same age thanks to my… _challenged_ stature.

How does a demon come to be, anyway? I knew nothing about them – about her. All I knew was that when I was at my absolute lowest, Ruby had come, claiming I'd called her in my despair. A summon, she called it, and proceeded to claim that I could either choose to end everything then and there, or accept her offer.

I never really questioned what she was or where she came from. Why would I? She lived off of people's souls and demonstrated quite adamantly what she was capable of during our escape from the Schnee mansion. From the home that had become my prison.

Now here she was, bright-eyed and amazed, acting… _almost_ like any other fifteen year old girl.

No, she was definitely still weird. But this was _human_ weird.

Someone cleared their throat behind us. It was the shopkeep, who stood by the entrance door and tapped the sign.

"Ah. Ruby, we have to go. They're closing."

"Aaawww, but I really want one!"

"Not now."

She sighed, but didn't argue the point. As we walked out the door, she cheerfully bid the shopkeep goodbye and thanked him for letting us look. Then, once we were back on the street, she stretched her arms above her head with a content sigh.

"Wow, this is kinda nice, Weiss!"

"Surprisingly so." Actually, I found myself having a more pleasant time than I could remember having had in a _long_ time.

"I almost don't want to go do the job. Why don't we just hang out all evening instead~"

Now that was unexpected. " _You're_ awfully chipper. I thought you'd jump at the opportunity for some more food." I'm not sure that word will ever mean the same to me again. "What happened to being so hungry all the time?"

"Well, I just ate!" She beamed. "It wasn't as good as last night, but it was pretty decent. You know, those two yesterday were actually really delicious, even if I didn't get to play a lot. I'd like to have more like them!"

That was certainly interesting. Did an unlocked aura have something to do with it? I had been hesitant upon learning they were students at Atlas Academy, but catching them off guard in an environment where they felt safe had worked in our favor.

I'd hoped that getting a taste of huntsmen in training might pull Ruby's cravings away from me.

"Don't worry though, Weiss, I still think you smell the best~"

"And it's still no."

I pulled up my scroll while speaking, and dismissed Ruby's comment about being prickly while checking the content Roman had sent me. It was a map of the area with a mark indicating our target building. Most likely, it would be our only shot at meeting the esteemed Drug King himself. What could we expect from a man who made a living off of supplying dangerous supplements to the shadiest part of Atlas? A businessman with a questionable hobby? A former huntsman or huntress, fallen from glory? A supervisor from the Schnee dust mines?

Roman had told us that this needed to be done tonight. I could only assume that meant his own plans were finalizing, thanks in no small part to the dirty work we were doing for him in ridding him of any competition. That mean he wouldn't be around for us much longer, and I'd rather have my pay before that happened.

However, _tonight_ was a fairly wide term and even though Atlas was always either _dark_ or _darker_ , it wasn't even dinner time yet.

I realized I was biting my nails again, a bad habit I'd developed sometime during the past year. I forced myself to stop, and made a decision.

"You know what?" I stopped walking too, and Ruby turned back to look at me with a puzzled expression. "I don't care."

"Uh, what?"

"I did _not_ leave that place just to trade my father for another tyrant. Tonight, we'll do what _we_ want."

I looked around, and found a place that looked bustling and noisy, it's flashing neon signs telling me it was just the kind of place I'd never go to.

Perfect.

We had a blast that evening, with the arcade turning out to be hit in regards to Ruby. I was right; I hated it. But watching _her_ , so amazed and entertained by simple electronic devices and dust-driven game machines, was almost worth it by itself. We competed in racing games, blasted Grimm in a 3D shooter, and spent more lien than I want to admit on a grappling hook game only to win a stupid little wolf plush toy which Ruby immediately dubbed _Zwei_ with four exclamation marks.

When we'd exhausted most of the options in that place, I indulged myself in a meal consisting of deep fried Mistralian chicken legs, and Ruby happily chewed away on her donut (which was just as amazing as she'd hoped, she exclaimed).

If the weapon shop had still been open, I might even have bought her one of those knives. Thankfully, it was not, and I returned to my senses once I realized we had only four hundred lien left of the original two thousand.

Irresponsible, yes. But I felt more revitalized than I had in years. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I almost felt skittish, grinning stupidly from ear to ear. For the first time, maybe ever, I felt like I had chosen something for myself. I was in control of my own life.

It was an intoxicating feeling that I wanted to never end.

"That was a lot of fun!" Ruby chippered as we walked down the steadily darker streets of Atlas, enjoying a snack and watching the nightlife.

I wished that I could just be able to enjoy something like this without any attachments. An almost normal life.

The melancholy settled upon me and for a second everything faltered.

"Weiss?" Ruby's ever-present sensitivity picked it up at once. She didn't exactly look concerned, but puzzled at least. _Almost_ like a friend.

Almost as if she weren't just a demon I'd sworn to keep fed upon entering our contract.

Why was it that I should not be able to lead a life like anyone else? This god-forsaken world and its twisted nature deserved nothing less than the moon to crash into it.

A high-pitched scream pulled our attention. Just down the street, a scuffle had broken out outside one of the neon-sign nightclubs that must be pretty popular, judging by the line by the front door. Two bouncers were grappling with a couple of teenage girls, while a third stood by and kept the rest of the line at bay.

Bouncers are generally not small people, and these were no exception. I heard their laughter and taunts as they pulled and tore at the girls' hair. They shrieked in pain and one of them even tried to bite her assaulter's hand. The other girl looked too drunk to even stand on her own feet, much less fight back.

What absolute brutes.

"Whatcha gonna do, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"I'll do what's right, this once." I steeled myself and strode up to them. "What is going on?"

One of the bouncers, a guy in his twenties by my guess, barely offered me a glance.

"None of your concern."

"Excuse me? You're hurting these girls and making a large scene in the middle of the street. Of course it's my concern."

His arm came at my face faster than I could blink. Just as I jerked backwards however, a gust of wind tore past me, and his arm was caught in Ruby's hand.

The red-hooded girl glared at the man with glowing eyes.

"Weiss. Are these bad people?"

I stared from her to the man, who tried to jerk his arm free with no success. We'd attracted everyone's attention. His bully colleague let the other girl drop to the ground, where she promptly vomited.

"Listen, we don't let drunkards into the club, that's policy and that's all there is to it," the bouncer said, glancing from me to Ruby and back. With his arm caught in Ruby's death grip, he didn't seem so eager to fight. "They made a scene and tried to break a window."

"Then turn them away and let that be it. There's no need to be violent," I said.

He snorted, and glanced at Ruby again. "Lemme go."

Ruby looked at me. I nodded, and she released him, allowing him to pull away. The girl he'd harassed hiccuped and wailed, pulled her friend up by the arm, and stumbled away. They both vanished down another street, crying the entire way.

The bouncer huffed and turned away, rubbing his arm as he did so.

I allowed myself a small smile, and when we continued past the line of waiting club guests, whispering voices trailed after us.

"Isn't that Weiss Schnee? I thought she was sick…"

"Who's that girl with her?"

"That was so scary and cool..."

This, I realized. This was what I wanted. To be able to stand on my own, do my own thing, and be recognized for it. One day, I'd do it all by my own power.

For now… I looked at my partner, and offered her a small smile. Ruby glanced at me, puzzled.

"Thanks. Both for intervening and for listening to me," I said.

She hummed and put her hands behind her head. "Well, he smelled sour anyway. Besides, you're the boss."

Right. The reminder pulled me out of whatever dream I'd tried to enter. This was hardly a friendly stroll through town, after all. We had a job, and I guessed it was time to look at that. As much as I hated performing to his wishes, I didn't feel like risking Neo's sword to my eye.

I'm not sure even Ruby could stop that strike.

"Let's see where this place is then…" I thumbed my scroll and found the info Roman had sent me. Should be a block or two from our position, so at least we wouldn't have to walk around for ages. I scrolled onwards, looking for more information on our target, and found a picture, a simple portrait we could use to find the man.

A picture which immediately made my face twist in a snarl.

On the scroll's screen was the round head of Klein Sieben.

* * *

 **A/N:** If last time was the pilot, this chapter is the "okay, let's try and figure out if this can work as a story somehow". Finding Weiss's voice, finding Ruby's personality, finding their dynamic, finding out what this version of Atlas is like in atmosphere, feel and looks, not to mention all the details with regards to the plot, both the here and now and what has already happened, as well as what will happen in the future... HEADACHE

It's not perfect, but I did my best, and can only hope to get better.

Reviews are food for my soul!


	3. Act 1: Chapter 3

**Act 1: Chapter 3**

I knew I'd done something stupid the second father smiled.

He never smiled at me, and certainly not when proposed with the idea that his youngest daughter no longer wanted to do his bidding.

"Weiss," he said, and the office chair creaked as he adjusted his position, clasping his hands in front of his mouth with his elbows planted in the polished desk surface. His eyes kept smiling. "Do you know _why_ I wanted you to chase a career within music?"

I hesitated, wondering if my answer would somehow decide the outcome of this conversation.

"Well… Winter is in the military, and Whitley is the heir to the company. I should do what I can to contribute to our family's honor." I gave him the same explanation I'd heard so many times over the years.

"Indeed. So tell me, in what way do you believe becoming a huntress will _help_ us?"

"I… thought you'd understand, father. This life, the stage, all this attention and pressure, it's… crushing me." My shoulders sagged, I knew I had failed him. In a way, I felt like I had failed myself. "I really just wish for a break…"

"So you believe that by waving a stick around with Winter every now and then has prepared you enough to become a huntress."

"No! I mean, that's why I want to study! I'll enter Atlas Academy and learn—"

His hand smacked into the desk and now I saw. He was not smiling any longer. Instead, his face had become a twisted frown.

"You are sixteen, Weiss. You are a famous singer, and it is about time you start entertaining suitors. Do you think it would _benefit_ us if you locked yourself away in a combat school filled with barbarians and scoundrels?"

"I… but… _you_ said huntsmen and huntresses are respectable people."

He rolled his eyes, that same condescending action that always made me feel like a stupid little child. "They run around in the wild killing _Grimm_ , Weiss. Who would want to marry a wildwoman? What kind of businessman would give their son to some brute of a wife who'd as easily beat him up as cook dinner over a campfire?"

Every ounce of energy drained out of me. I wished I could turn back time to when I still hesitated outside his door. I'd tell myself to get back to my senses. This had been a terrible idea.

"I – I didn't think…"

"No, you clearly didn't. The answer is no. You will continue singing." He turned away from me, looking up at the portrait of his younger self which always hung above his head.

And there it was. The complete control, which had grated my nerves for months – years – already. My determination returned with a gust of fire.

"But that's not what I want."

He paused, then turned his head to look at me. "I'm sorry?"

My hands clenched, hot and sweaty, I felt like I was about to battle a Grimm barehanded. "I _don't_ want to. Father, I hate this life! Wherever I go I'm ogled by men, pestered by media, threatened by haters, and smothered by fans! I have to constantly wear this _mask_ of someone who I'm not! Some days I don't even want to get up, and just hide in bed forever. Just thinking about going on stage makes me sick! I don't want to live like this any longer! I want to do what _I_ want, just this once! I'll sing as often as I can, I'll even marry whoever you choose! Just, let me do this _one_ thing. I just want to go to school and be a normal girl for once in my life. Please…"

My voice became a mere whisper at the very end, as courage failed me once more. I stared at the front of his desk, not brave enough to meet his gaze directly. The intricate design in the wood made for a nice distraction while I awaited my judgment.

"I'll tell you what, Weiss."

His light-mannered tone surprised me, but when I looked up at him, my chest immediately froze. His eyes were as cold as icicles.

"The life of a huntress is harsh, cold and lonely. Those who dedicate themselves to a life of hunting monsters must endure all of that and more, for their entire lives." He turned to face me fully, and stood at his full height, easily towering above me. "If you can survive that kind of life for a single year, I'll grant your wish. Why, I'll even let you have Myrtenaster."

He gestured at his bookshelf, that ran along the entire length of the room. Closest to his desk and near the very top sat a display case which held one of the Schnee family's most precious treasures. Myrtenaster, the Multi Action Dust Rapier forged and wielded by none other than Nicholas Schnee himself. My late grandfather. Father forbade anyone from touching the display case, much less hold the sword.

Now he was suddenly offering it to _me_?

Part relief, part wariness filled me. "What… what do you mean?"

"It wouldn't do to send you off to school completely unprepared. Besides, Atlas Academy has an age requirement, they only accept students above seventeen years of age. You will stay in your room for one year. This will be your test to see if you are as ready as you think. During this year, you will not leave your room for any reason whatsoever. The staff will be instructed to never enter unless it is with my specific permission."

"Wha – that's just—"

"And if you fail," he interrupted, "you will never be given this chance again, and you will continue to sing, and do exactly as I say. You will never again object to the duties you have as a Schnee. Do you understand, Weiss?"

No. I couldn't. I didn't understand, even if his words made sense, even if I could hear loudly and clearly what he was saying. There was no way I could understand.

"But – I'll have to eat!"

"Klein will see to that."

I was stumped. Part of me still refused to believe it, but the look in his eyes left no doubt. He really meant it. He'd give me this one chance, and… that would be it.

I'm not sure I was even breathing. My eyes swam and numbly, I realized that if I wanted to prove to him that I should be allowed to make my own choices, I had to do this. I had to beat him at his own games.

I glanced at the rapier on the shelf again. Truth be told, my fingers itched to close around the handle.

It couldn't be that bad, right? I was planning on entering an academy that taught how to hunt and kill man-eating monsters! If just staying in my room would grant me the start of a fresh life, then how could I have second thoughts? The world _was_ a harsh place, and every Schnee before me had endured, again and again and again.

How could I be any worse than them?

I pulled a breath and met his eyes with as much confidence as I could conjure up.

"I'll do it."

XXX

Light snow had begun falling, and Ruby had pulled her hood up. All I saw was the cloak fluttering as she sauntered along in front of me, its burnt and frayed edge just completing the worn look. She hummed a song that mixed with the heat in my mind to create a vacuum. I dimly recognized that it wasn't one of mine. In fact, the melody was one I'd never heard before. That alone was enough to give me some room to breathe.

I looked up at the two-story building we were approaching, a completely normal apartment complex. Icicles hung precariously over the main entrance, which was dark and uninviting. This was the place we'd find our target.

A sense of anticipation filled me, and rather than growing hot with rage, I felt numb and chilled.

If I could make the world just a little bit better tonight, that was enough for now.

As indicated by Roman's map, we passed the main entrance which would have taken us into the hallways and staircases leading to each apartment. Instead, we entered the alley besides the building. Here, just around the corner and beside a container of trash, was the door we wanted. A neon sign hung above it, but only half the lights worked.

"Wraff!"

"Gaaaah!" Ruby jumped backwards at the bark, nearly pulling me off my feet in her panic.

"What the – what!?"

"It's a dog!" She sounded equally excited and worried, as if she wanted to both kick and hug the thing. The mutt who seemed to have made the container his home didn't come out however, just barking and whimpering in our direction. The lid on the container was askew, creating an opening that a small animal could easily slip into.

"Are you _afraid of_ _dogs_?"

"I'm not!" Ruby folded her arms in a stubborn gesture. "They just don't like me, is all. And their bite hurts!"

"You're a _demon_." And she bit _me_ just this morning!

"But I'm not invulnerable! Regenerating fingers is a pain!" She actually thought that little mutt could harm her. I sighed deeply.

"I'm sure you can easily scare it off."

Ruby glanced at me, and why did she look surprised? Had that really not occurred to her? Her mischievous grin said otherwise.

"Or eat it?"

"Why would you – that's gross! No!"

"It has aura. It works."

"We're _not_ doing that." I pulled her along towards the door, refusing to partake in the monstrosity she was presenting. I could serve her homeless sick people who was heading for death without our help, and corrupted souls who lived off of other's misery, even petty criminals with no regard to the laws that were in place to keep us all safe. But an animal who had no impact on our lives whatsoever? No.

The dog kept yipping when we passed by. Ruby snarled right back, sending the mutt whimpering into the depths of its trash cave.

"Clashing of the predators," I dryly commented.

She just grinned like she'd earned a medal. "I won~"

I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open. It was a dust shop, and it smelled like one too. The thick air almost tickled against my skin as we entered the door, descended a short staircase and turned into an open room. Tubes of different colors filled the shelves and displays, unorganized and completely neglecting any safety regulations.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice found us, soon followed by a man who could have been Klein's spitting image, except for the fact that he had not a single hair on his head. That, and half his face was burned off. The crinkly flesh and fake right eye was a disturbing sight. At this point the gun holster at his hip didn't even surprise me.

"You dun look like customers." He raised a smoke with a hand that missed two fingers, and pulled a deep breath, then let out a curtain of smoke. "Ain't you the, uh, Schnee girl? I seen you on holovision."

I narrowed my glare at him. "This – is a dust shop."

"Well ain't you sharp."

"And you're _smoking_."

"Gettin' better!"

Part horrified and part infuriated, I gestured at the room around us. "You do realize you could blow us all up!?"

One eyebrow rose, and I realized just how he must have gotten all those injuries to begin with. My survival instincts promptly instructed me to flee.

"You gonna buy or not?" He looked from me to Ruby, who was poking at a vial of lightning dust.

"We're not buying," I squared my shoulders. "We're looking for a man. Maybe you know him?" I showed him my scroll and the image of Klein.

The bald shop owner looked at the picture, then at me, and patted his cigarette.

"You're the pickup, then?"

He obviously knew more about this than expected.

"We are," I confirmed.

"Well alright. Come with me." He turned and shuffled towards the back of the store, scratching his back as he walked. "Name's Gimmel, by the way. At leas' right now it is."

We followed, though I fell back slightly in order to lean closer to Ruby and whispered: "Stay on your guard."

"Roger!"

We followed Gimmel to the back of the counter, where a creaky old staircase took us to another floor. As I walked up the whining steps I couldn't help but feel that this was the perfect place for us to be attacked – I was between Gimmel and Ruby, if he turned around now I'd be helpless to stop him. I suppose my paranoia was reaching new levels. I _felt_ like we were being trapped.

But he didn't leap at me with a knife, nor did the stairs suddenly collapse beneath us. We ascended into a shoddy hallway that my father would have instantly ordered sanitized. The cobwebs and questionable splotches on the walls didn't seem to bother our guide though, as he cracked open a door at the end of the hallway and stepped inside.

"They're here," he grunted, and stepped aside.

It was a kitchen. Not that I'd ever eat anything made in here, but someone obviously _did_ , judging by the stained pans and pots and the mountain of dishes in the sink. There was just one window, facing the street and allowing the moonlight to spill over cracked floorboards. Over the kitchen table hung a myriad of fresh ingredients ranging from dried meat to garlic, and below that contraption, with knuckles pale and eyes bloodshot, sat our objective.

Klein Sieben, the head butler of the Schnee household and the man whose very existence filled me with bile. He looked misplaced here with his sharp vest and shirt.

His hopeful expression faltered as soon as he saw me, replaced by a creeping fear.

"W-Weiss? You're alive!"

"Mr. Sieben," I answered coolly, and he cringed. Good. We were far past the point where I'd address him by first name. That implied a bond of sorts, and we had no such thing any longer. Not even as an employer and employee. Never mind that he had pretty much raised me when father and mother weren't around.

My voice dripped of venom as I spoke. "Who would have thought that you were the kind of person to sink this low."

"I-I can explain everything, I really-"

"Silence. I don't want to hear a word out of your mouth."

Beside us, Gimmel put out his cigarette by mashing it against the counter. That explained the singe marks. "Well, this is a happy reunion an' all. Sorry to say I'd rather you break it up soon, cause I ain't gonna sit around here with a bunch of shady peoples in ma house."

Klein looked from me to him, and back. "A-Are you here to pick me up then, Ms. Schnee?"

I wished we weren't. "Yes. Although I'm _this_ close from just letting her eat you." I gestured at Ruby, who perked at being addressed. She beamed at Klein, though he didn't respond in fashion.

"Weiss I – Ms. Schnee, I swear I did everything I—"

"You did nothing!" Suddenly, I snapped. I just couldn't take it anymore, this sorry excuse of a man sitting there begging for forgiveness that I'd never give. "How dare you even _look_ at me after what you did – what you did _not_ do! Did you think it was a game to me? That I was going through a little phase of 'let's oppose father and see what happens'?

"As if I _wanted_ to plunge myself into a life with no heat, no clean clothes, and not a single person to share a word with! You have _no_ idea what it was like, living in complete isolation for so long! And even when I tried to tell you, you only turned your back on me and locked the door, just like _him!_ You were the only face I saw for an _entire_ year and yet you didn't even find it in you to keep me fed! How many times did you _forget_ , Klein? Did you think that _I_ would forget?"

Now that the dam had broken, I couldn't stop. I wished I could crush his skull with my very hands, stab out his flickering eyes, and pour his blood into the sink. Ruby must have rubbed off on me.

"I was in that room for _so long,_ and thanks to _your_ carelessness it was all for naught! I thought I was dying, I ate my own _nails_ , I _licked the floor, I chewed on wooden splinters!_ And yet I held on, because that was my only chance at some semblance of freedom. But then!"

Suddenly, my voice became deathly calm.

"But then you betrayed me, Klein. You'd ignored me that entire time, yet when the end was finally in reach, the goal line _nearly crossed_ , you went and tore it all down."

The room had gone completely quiet. Klein stared, even his freckles had paled, but it wasn't me he was looking at. It was Ruby. The girl had shed all attempts at seeming human and the aura of death she exuded curled around us like a looming predator. Her eyes glowed faintly and her mouth was a grin of unquenchable thirst.

"Holy mother of gods." The shop owner scrambled to back off, staring at the demon like he'd seen his own death.

I raised a hand and put it on Ruby's shoulder, feeling the hunger churning inside her. In response to my touch, the darkness in the room grew denser, prickling against our skin. Flakes of ash drifted from Ruby's shoulders like she was about to burst into flames. Coiled muscles vibrated like a spring beneath my hand, ready to explode into action the moment I gave my command.

How easy it would be to say the word. Knowing that I held the traitor's life on the tip of my tongue, I gorged on the powerful feeling.

"Yet," I said, letting my fingers trail down Ruby's arm and to her wrist, gently securing it in my hand. "I'm not here for your life, Mr. Sieben. I came because I have a job, one I intend to fulfill for the time being. I am here to bring you to someone who would like to speak with you."

Even if he looked like words had long since failed him, Klein somehow managed to find his voice. With his gaze locked on Ruby's glowing eyes, he began stuttering.

"It was your father, it always was. I had no choice, he – he was the one pulling the strings, all along. I tried to give you _more_ than he wanted and…" his hand flew to his chest, before curling up. "...I was punished for it. When I saw your state that day I couldn't leave you be!"

"You took me out of the room two weeks before the test was over. I failed because of _you_!" I hissed, clenching Ruby's wrist as if stopping myself from leaping at him.

"You were dying!"

"I was going to make it!"

A low growl escaped the demon beside me, pulling us both out of the argument. I silently pulled her hand back, even though by now the strength coursing through her body was far greater than I could hope to restrain.

Klein swallowed heavily, face drenched in sweat. Even if he didn't know _what_ he was facing, he must have realized it was a very real threat. "Pease believe me, Weiss. I never had anything but your best in mind. I started this – this whole operation with the dust drugs because I could no longer live with doing _nothing_. I wanted to shame the company, weaken their reputation, put them in a difficult spotlight and perhaps even influence your father from behind the scenes. But I was found." He looked terrified, and flinched at the slightest movement from any of us.

"Found by who?" I asked.

"Roman Torchwick. H-He wanted my contacts, my – dust suppliers. I don't have any production halls or equipment, I just arranged with others. Put people who'd otherwise never meet into contact with each other, all behind your father's back. But Torchwick found me, and threatened to expose me. I g-gave him everything I had, and he promised to get me out of here. Are you not here, to bring me out of Atlas, like he promised?"

This did not match up with what Torchwick had told us. From what he'd said, he still didn't know of Klein's contacts or suppliers, but according to Klein, he had all of that, and had even promised to get Klein safely out of Atlas.

He'd shepherded us all here.

 _We'd all been tricked._

I had barely recognized the idea before the window shattered. Glass rained across the sink and over Gimmel, who still sat on the floor. A dust grenade bounced off the counter and erupted in a cloud of ice dust, rapidly chilling the room.

"Damn!" Gimmel pulled his gun from his holster.

Right after the grenade a figure in dark clothes and facemask swung inside the room as well, landing on the kitchen counter. Gimmel immediately pulled the trigger, bombarding the intruder with explosive dust rounds. The intruder jumped aside under the barrage of gunshots, pulling his own weapon. More figures entered after the first, crushing plates and cups, while boots thundered against the staircase and through the hallway behind us.

"Freeze! This is the police!"

"Shit!" Gimmel yelled and flung off one arm grabbing for him, levelling his gun at the new intruders and flicking a switch. Half of the room was consumed in flames. The shrieks of the intruders mixed with the roar of flames, and the incredible heat washed over my face as well, stinging wildly. Someone grabbed my arm and I turned to look into the cold eyes of a masked officer. Then, his grip was ripped away as Ruby smashed into him.

Chaos broke loose. Shattering dishware, thumps of boots, gunshots, singing metal, shouts and yells and the roar of fire filled my ears. I fell to the floor and desperately crawled away, taking refuge under the table in the middle of the room. Just in time for a chair to smash under the weight of a thrown body. My head thumped from a blow I couldn't remember and my body felt like lead.

Someone grabbed my wrist and I shrieked, only to look up at Klein.

"Come this way, Miss!"

He pulled me out from under the table and to my feet. I didn't even think to protest. Every part of my body was fueled by only one overpowering instinct.

Survive.

I couldn't get caught, or they'd ship me right back to my father. I couldn't stay and risk that. So I let him drag me along, ran as fast as I could to keep up. He pushed open a door into another room and I cast one glance backwards.

And saw _her_. White hair tied up in its usual bun, the sharp uniform of a Specialist that never failed to impress.

Winter was _here_.

I wanted to say something – anything – but there was too much distance between us, and too much chaos. I think our eyes met for just an instant, and then it was over, and I was fleeing with Klein through a living room, slamming open another door, stumbling down a staircase and out of the building, into the moonlight street outside. My lungs stung, my eyes burned and my heart was about to break a rib.

He was heaving, wheezing and limping a little, but we didn't stop, not even when cars honked and people yelled at us for nearly pushing them over. He pulled me along, away from the danger, and deeper into the darkness of Atlas's alleys.

Soon the alleys dispersed and opened up to reveal large buildings and pipes running across a large expanse of land. We'd come upon the water treatment facility. It was a modern facility with more chimneys than I had fingers, and it pumped an unhealthy amount of smoke into the sky. A channel had been built to lead sea water into the facility.

We ran along the edge of the river channel, the frozen surface of the water glinting beneath us. A slippery artificial riverbed sloped up to street level. Between us and the slope ran a chain link fence, which Klein was using for support, until suddenly, his foot gave in. He overbalanced and hit the fence with his full weight. Its foundations must have weakened over time, because part of the fence snapped off its support. His grip on my arm pulled me down with a yank, and then we both fell. Down the slope, bruising against gravel and ice, ripping cloth and skin alike. We landed on the narrow stretch of flat riverbed running along the water, a walkway for service personnel when inspecting the river up close.

I could hardly breathe, or feel my wounds. I just wheezed as I pushed myself up on my hands and knees, and watched numbly as a drop of blood splashed against the ground beneath me. Everything ached, but more than that, everything felt so unreal. Silence rang in my ears, broken only by the heaves of our exhaustion.

Where were we even going? Trying to escape, in Atlas? From the council, the police, from _father_?

My eyes blurred and I blinked away tears, sitting back on my legs, too weak to try and stand.

In front of me, Klein was doing the same, trying to catch his breath, and bleeding from numerous scratches all over his face and arms. His shirt sleeve had ripped, and hung in tatters from his shoulder.

I didn't want to speak with him, but for the moment, we had a sort of alliance. Neither of us wanted to return to that mansion, I suppose, and both of us had been tricked by Torchwick.

That man must have wanted to get rid of those who knew of his own operations. And evidenced by these events, that included both me, Ruby and Klein.

Why had I trusted that man at all? But the answer was simple: I hadn't. I just didn't have a choice.

 _As usual._

Still heaving for air, Klein turned towards me, and that's when I saw his real state. Numerous pinpricks of irritated skin, and hissing red veins ran across his exposed arm.

He realized where I was looking and covered his arm.

"Klein, you're… an addict?"

XXX

Silence. A sound most welcome after all that racket. Winter stood with her back straight, looking over the absolute chaos this operation had led to.

"Looks like our informant was correct. However, _u_ _narmed_ isn't exactly what I'd have called this."

She glanced over at the owner of the apartment. He'd been killed in the fray, a little too much force from her men breaking through aura and snapping his neck.

He wasn't the only casualty however.

Of the twelve men she'd recruited for the operation, only three still stood. Four lay spread across the room in various states of disarray, one across the table with an obviously broken back. Two were most likely not getting back up.

The rest… were gone.

She had no good explanation for that oddity. While the room had taken extensive damage from the fire before it was put out, it hadn't been enough of a fire to completely burn away five bodies.

And they weren't the only ones gone. So was the girl in the red cloak.

Winter had only briefly engaged that individual in battle, but the short bout had given her ample time to gauge her ability. Swift, powerful strikes seemed to be the girl's forte, as well as zipping around the room like a wasp. But faced with a trained, armed officer she had obviously struggled. The girl had been strong, but brittle. Winter had personally skewered her through the shoulder in an attempt to subdue her, only to find a surprising lack of aura resistance. She'd thought such a skilled fighter would have had her aura activated, but Winter's sword met no resistance other than flesh and bone.

Then the girl had burst into a cloud of dust which covered every inch of the room and blinded everyone in it. When the smokescreen – dustscreen? – finally cleared up, she was nowhere to be found.

Her semblance? Or another trick? In any case, that marked the end of the chaos, and their original target had been lost in the confusion.

Along with Weiss.

"What happened here?"

Winter turned at the new voice. In the doorway to the kitchen stood a girl with short hair and a navy blue cap, stiff as a rod. She was already looking at her clock and frowning.

Beside her, that… thing, smiled into the room. She may look human, but Winter knew better. A bob of orange hair, a bow and combat skirt wasn't enough to erase the unease commanded by that thing's mere presence.

"Looks like everything's already over?" It asked.

"The operation was not supposed to start in another two minutes. This is a severe breach of protocol."

Ciel Soleil and Penny Polendina.

Winter turned fully towards them. "Greetings, cadets."

Ciel immediately snapped to attention and saluted. "Ma'am! We are sorry for the tardiness."

"Don't. It's not your fault." Winter glanced at the remaining soldiers who were tending to the wounded. "It was deemed necessary to move before schedule. However, an unforeseen complication arose on the scene." If a teenage girl with inhuman strength could be labeled as such. Perhaps that one hadn't been so different from Ms. Polendina.

But that was impossible. Only two people were mad enough to attempt a soul transfer into a machine, and she was working for one of them.

"What's the status report, ma'am?"

"Four down. Five missing. The shop owner was an… unexpected addition." Gimmel Galadien, if memory served right. Former special operator and seasoned soldier, retired after a dust mine went off by accident in training. His skill with an axe was unparalleled. After losing two fingers, it looked like he'd switched to guns.

"Main target escaped. Along with…" Winter paused as a strange and sudden throb resounded in her chest.

"With?" Penny Polendina cocked her head.

"…an hostage."

"Oh no, that's terrible! Should we go after them?"

"Ma'am, what are your orders?"

Winter briefly closed her eyes. She could either use the resources handed to her, or ignore them – and risk another fiasco. If Klein Sieben had more unexpected allies, she wouldn't want to waste more _men._

So why not send the robot.

"Conduct a search of the perimeter, but do not engage target before reporting to me."

"Ma'am!" Ciel saluted, and Penny smiled brilliantly.

"This is sensational! Our very first mission!"

The two of them spun around and vanished down the hallway. In their absence, Winter pinched the bridge of her nose and pulled a deep breath.

 _I'm sorry, Weiss._

XXX

When the door to my room locked that first day, it didn't feel real. I figured I'd spend my days playing the piano, practicing my fencing and my semblance. If I just stayed strong, I'd be able to endure.

It was only when Klein came by the next morning with what would be my "rations for the day", delivered with a slight smile, that it started to sink in. I asked him about the cold, and he informed me that my father had ordered the heat turned off in my room, to simulate the "cold" part of a huntress life I suppose.

I didn't realize how dependent I'd been on the artificial heat source. For the first two weeks, I spent the majority of time in bed, coughing and sneezing with feverish sweat drenching my body. Nobody brought me medicine, the only person I ever saw was Klein as he came in once a day with a meal. He'd ask how I was the first few times, but then there was no reason to ask any longer.

I was sick, and the only thing to do was to get better.

But my problems had barely started.

Of course, I'd run out of tissues by the time my head cleared up and my nose stopped running, and the trash bin in the adjacent bathroom was full of them. As I watched the trash can and realized no one would come and empty it for an entire year, something else struck me. I began doing a resource count. I had two spare toilet paper rolls, one bottle of shampoo, tons of useless makeup and a towel, the fluffy kind I loved to wrap myself up in after a relaxing bath. The maids always brought me what I needed from the closet out in the hall.

It had never been further away.

Nobody came to refill my toiletries any longer.

Once the toilet paper ran out, I used other things. A washcloth, but keeping it clean turned into a hassle, and once it smelled permanently of death and decay I hid it in the bottom of the laundry bin. I opted to wipe myself scarcely instead and just shake dry, and as a result I contracted a urinary tract infection due to the cold. Seeing no other option, I used the old tissues in the trashcan until the toilet clogged.

I was twelve weeks into my isolation and I had no working toilet.

XXX

"I never… wanted this…" Klein muttered under his breath, clutching at the tattered remains of his shirt. "I was going to work for the Schnee family… honorable, respected family… but it is a lie!" He sneered at me, eyes a raging red. "Your family is full of sick, twisted, hateful individuals! And if it weren't for you, if it weren't – for _you_ – I wouldn't be like _this!_ "

"Do not think this will save you, Klein!" I snarled right back at him. What a pitiful sight we were, torn and bleeding and helplessly sprawled on the artificial riverside.

"Why did you not just obey your father!?" He lunged at me and grabbed my collar, cocking his fist back. My cheek took the first punch with a blinding burst of pain.

I'd had my aura unlocked by Winter a few years ago, but without a lot of training on how to use it, I wasn't quick enough to block the damage. Dazed by the hit I fell backwards, unable to keep myself supported with my weak body.

"I should have ended it much sooner!" The desperate man yelled, pounding at me with his fist in lack of any other way to lash out. He may not be a trained warrior, but he was a grown man and I was barely more than skin and bone. Each blow struck me hard and depleted my aura that much more, weak though it may be.

"I tried everything, I did nothing but serve loyally and faithfully for many years, and what is the reward? This!" He stopped punching just long enough to pull his tattered shirt apart, showcasing a branded symbol of the Schnee crystal on his chest. The skin looked dark and sickly in the moonlight. A burned mark in the flesh, and it looked deep. It had caused a lot of damage.

"This was your father's way of rewarding me for my many years of service. For bringing _one_ meal too many, just trying to keep his daughter alive. And just like your family's company, his creation brought only infection. I was bedridden for weeks, but still did my best to bring you meals every day, seeing only your continued deteriorating state without being able to do _anything_."

He wiped his eyes with his tattered sleeve. "I tried so hard to get back to my feet that I ended up overexerting myself, and then my body protested when I tried to quit the medication. Guess which company earns their money on my medicine doses? Your grandfather would turn in his grave!"

Wham! His fist hit me again, this time drawing blood inside my mouth. He was no longer reminiscent of the old Klein, and I'd truthfully never seen this side of him. With a roar his fist descended again, but this time I was ready. My hand rose and a glowing shield appeared between myself and him, ironically the same symbol which had been burned into his skin.

It wasn't especially big or especially bright, but it was _there._

And with a satisfying

 _CRACK_

His fist struck the glyph.

"Guaaaaaah!" He wailed in pain and grabbed his injured hand with the other, but didn't move off of me. The plan had been a halfway success, but wiggling myself free turned out to be too much.

My struggles only served to make him recover more quickly. With the fury of a wounded Grimm he grabbed at my throat, didn't even seem to mind the pain in his hand now, and my strength failed me – I was no good with glyphs, not like Winter. Doing them on the fly like this was too much. I'd practiced in my room, but after a while the energy required to use my semblance took a backseat in favor of simply surviving.

Klein's hands closed around my throat, and his weight pushed me into the ground. His thumbs pressed into my throat and stars burst into my vision.

"SCHNEEEEEE!"

I tried to kick him. My boot merely brushed by his shin, but his grip still loosened. It wasn't because of my useless struggle however.

A spray of blood splattered onto my face and I desperately rolled over; his hands fell off my throat.

They fell.

Because they were no longer attached to his arms.

Ashes twirled down around us as his face contorted into an expression of shock. Behind him, a fluttering red cloak instantly filled me with relief.

"Ruby!"

She turned, with a grin of great satisfaction and predatory intent. And no wonder. That monstrous weapon – a scythe, but far larger than any I'd previously seen – rested on her shoulder. Bloody red, with jagged blades shimmering in the moonlight and dripping with blood. It was almost twice her size and looked far too heavy for a girl her age to lift.

"You got your weapon!" My surprise was genuine. That thing was massive! If she'd gathered that much power, I could only imagine what had gone down in that kitchen after we left. And – I realized with a pang – did that mean Winter too…?

"Yup!" She beamed. "There was this woman with a sword though, she was _really_ strong! She nearly got me." She gestured to her shoulder, where flakes of ash still drifted into the air.

The sudden relief made me feel light-headed. Of course, Winter was strong. I needn't have worried.

Ruby cocked her head at me, but Klein's continued wailing pulled her attention. His cries only ended when Ruby kicked him to the ground and put a black boot on his chest. Then he just lay there, staring up at her in complete and utter shock.

With her massive scythe resting across her shoulders, she leaned down toward him and sniffed.

"I smell dust."

"He's an addict," I croaked, and crawled my way towards where he lay, heaving for air and staring up at Ruby with glossy eyes. A primal part of me was incredibly satisfied at his misery.

Finally, I had time to respond to his rampage.

"You seem to misunderstand something, mr. Sieben. There is no use pleading with me or cursing my name. The fact that you turned out to be behind this is an added bonus, but you were never my main target. Please do yourself a favor and be honest. You did not start this large-scale drug production with my best interests in mind. You are addicted, you simply needed access to more drugs. Medication _is_ expensive, after all. However, in doing this, you caused great harm to our society. That is something I cannot stand for. _You_ are no better than father."

"M-Miss Schnee—! GWAAAAAAH!" His blood-curling scream ripped through the air as Ruby slammed the bladed end of her scythe's shaft into his guts.

"Mmmm, he's old and not very potent, but he's full of all these good feelings. Can we play? Just a little?" Ruby's eyes twinkled.

That was certainly one way to defy Torchwick's instructions, not that the thief had planned on getting this man back anyway. Why else would he orchestrate an ambush for all of us? He'd just meant to take us all out, remove those who knew of him – it's not like he'd still be around by the time we came as far as to testify.

We didn't need Klein alive any longer.

"Yes, Ruby. You've done well."

Her fangs glinted in a satisfied grin.

I leaned forward. "Let's see if I can find his supplies."

Not even fazed by his bloody state at this point, I began searching Klein's frame for anything like a pouch or similar, working my way around the embedded scythe shaft and Ruby's boot.

I found a small leather case in his chest pocket, and numbly pulled it out. Opening it revealed six small syringes all filled with red liquid. Each vial was the size of half a finger. I touched one of them, and it felt warm. I let my finger trace one of the vials while my thoughts ran. Looking at Ruby, my imagination began churning, and she met my gaze quizzically and eagerly.

I answered her unasked question with a smile.

"How often do you take these, Klein? One a day? Once a week?" He wheezed below me, slowly bleeding out onto the ground. The stumps of his arms had been cleanly cut off right at the wrist, and thanks to the cold the flow of blood had slowed to a trickle.

Maybe it was the evening's events finally catching up to me. I no longer cared. Just looking at Klein's face made me sick to the core.

"It doesn't matter, does it." I picked up one of the syringes and grabbed the arm closest to me, removing shreds of cloth to expose his elbow. Ruby peered curiously at my actions from above.

"Will that work now?"

"Let's find out." Maybe the drug would simply escape through his amputated stumps. There was only one way to find out. Finding a vein was no problem with that hissing red web of them expanding from his elbow. The needle slid in easily and the contents emptied into his system. Did I even hit the vein? I decided I didn't care.

"Miss… Weiss…" he gurgled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sieben, but in your state we won't be able to take you back." I smiled lightly, pulling another syringe from his leather case. The empty one clattered to the ground beside me. "Allow me to show you my gratitude though. After all, you did take care of me for _almost_ an entire year."

The second syringe slid in just as easily as the first. The third and fourth followed, and by the fifth, he was frothing at the mouth as his eyes rolled up.

Ruby licked her lips, regarding the struggling man beneath her with obvious thirst.

I held onto last syringe, watching the effect of the other five doses working their way through his body. It was painfully obvious that five doses was too much. His body started shaking and spasming, only held in place by the scythe and Ruby's boot on his chest. Everything else shook, saliva frothed from his mouth and bubbling blood began seeping from his nose and eyes. Steam rose from his body, and when his ears began leaking a liquid not quite like blood, I knew his fate was sealed.

He was literally melting from within. Hissing red bubbles grew on his arms and face, red splotches spreading beneath his skin as blood veins ruptured from the excessive heat. He shook more and more, his head clattering against the ground. Then, all at once, blood gushed from his mouth and his body stilled.

Ruby expelled a tense breath.

Slowly, his body began disintegrating, starting from where Ruby's scythe still impaled him. The lazy flakes of ash were absorbed into the scythe and vanished. The black skin ate its way up and down his body and devoured even clothes, until nothing remained but a pool of blood and melted ice.

Klein Sieben was no more.

The cathartic feeling almost made me shake with glee. I'd done it. I could do this.

I was in control of my own fate.

Ruby grabbed her scythe and yanked it free of the ground. She looked no different, but the ashes had stopped drifting off of her. The fact that she even had the scythe spoke volumes of her growth. With no Torchwick, and with Ruby at this level of strength, we could finally move on to our main objective.

And yet, her smile was as bright as the sun. "All heale—"

Ruby didn't even finish her sentence. One second she was looking at me, the next there was a flash of light, deafening and fast as lightning. Crescent Rose fell to the ground and vanished in a cloud of ash. Ruby's entire right arm was gone, leaving a smoking hole in her shoulder and side. Instead of blood, smoldering ash trailed into the air.

Ruby turned, snarling like a caged animal – and was ripped apart.

It all went by so fast. Swords, so many swords, skewered Ruby's body and in an instant, they all pulled in different directions, tearing her apart like a cardboard box. Ruby's surprised expression remained for an instant, before it, and every piece of her, smoldered into black dust.

And she was gone.

I couldn't move. My legs had stopped working, my brain had stopped thinking. I just stared at the spot where she'd just been, and now there was nothing.

The swords pulled back through the air with a menacing _ziinngggh_ and a voice spoke up, monotone and disinterested.

"Hostile eliminated, hostage secured. Yes, in pieces. No trace of aura remains except your sister. Main target is gone as well, circumstances unclear. Orders?"

A girl with short, dark hair and a blue skirt stood above me on street level. Beside her, another girl with orange hair and a combat skirt smiled and waved down at me. I couldn't even find my voice. I was dripping with blood, freezing with cold, and utterly alone.

… _sister?_

That's right, Winter was…

I didn't struggle when the orange-haired girl jumped down and pulled me to my feet. I offered no word of protest as she picked me up like a limp doll and leapt back up to street level.

I was so, so tired.

* * *

 **A/N:**

This marks the end of "Act 1" and ends the introduction arc. These acts will follow us throughout the story. It's more or less a way to divide the story into segments just like what regular chapters do. Each act will contain a certain focus or theme, and the end of an act signifies a major change and/or goal reached (whether it's for a specific character or plot-wise). There's no set length for them.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you really make me want to continue this story! There's a lot of _fun_ in store for everyone~

How did you guys like Klein's death, and Weiss's test?

 **In-depth thoughts on some topics, just for fun:**

 **Klein:** Klein turned this into a difficult chapter. There is so little screentime to base him off, and we know very little about his nature and the circumstances around his changing personalities. Put all that aside however, and this is still an extreme situation for his character, one which we have no basis on which to predict a reaction for. If he was going to stick around for a while longer, I would have spent more time fleshing out his character. The Klein Sieben we saw here was a broken man.

 **Ruby's scythe and weapon jargon:** Weiss refers to "the bladed end of the scythe's shaft". While the "shaft" is technically named "snath" (and I'm on shaky ground here), I see no reason for Weiss to know that, plus it's not a word most people know without having to look it up. I like to use the correct terms when I can, but I'm not a big fan of making readers having to google words in my stories – especially when I'm not overly familiar with them myself! So super-specific jargon won't be used unless it's too much effort to describe it otherwise.

 **Weiss's glyphs:** At this point in time, there is no clear divide between what Weiss can do with her semblance alone, and what she needs dust (ie Myrtenaster) to fill in on. In the show, she regularly uses the different dust stored in Myrtenaster to create glyphs with different effects (like the black one or the time dilation one), but she summons the boarbatusk in S4 without the weapon at hand. As of now, I'm going to interpret it like "she can make glyphs without dust, but not of different effects". That leaves her with the basic white glyph (which I'm only assuming is solid because she uses them to leap off of).

There is also the issue of her blue "aura shield" which she uses on occasion – it's a not a glyph, and more like the kind of shield we see Ren use against the King Taijitu early on in S1. (See her fight in S2 vs the chainsaw for an example). Is this aura technique, semblance or dust? My guess is the former, since Ren had no dust available when he did it, and they both have other semblances. It all comes down to preferences and some logic wrestling at this point, so I went ahead and let her use her glyph here, since that, being her semblance, seems to be what she's most likely to learn first. Whether this is correct or incorrect does not play a big part of this story at a large, but it's something I hade to make a decision on nonetheless!

* * *

See you next chapter!


	4. Act 2: Chapter 4

**A/N:** If you made it through the first three chapters this should come as no surprise, but there will be some unpleasant scenes in the coming chapters. I don't want to say trigger warning, but that's essentially what this is. Just apply it to the whole story, just in case.

Enjoy!(?)

* * *

 **Act 2: Chapter 4**

The worst part wasn't that I'd failed. It wasn't that my hair was a mess in serious need of a brush and some trimming too.

"No worries, Ms. Schnee, we'll get you back in shape in no time!" The hairdresser that father had hired chirped happily, as if she wasn't dealing with a broken, tired excuse of a human being who'd just come out of a year-long hibernation. _Nearly_ one year, I corrected sullenly.

I sat in front of a mirror that wasn't mine and stared at a creature who wasn't me. Unrecognizable. Broken, tattered, worthless.

No, the worst part was that nobody cared.

Father hadn't been there when Klein carried me out of that room, and I'd only seen him once since then, when he told the maid caring for me at the time to notify him of any change in my condition. Apparently, board meetings were more important than his own daughter, _as usual_. Even Klein had abandoned me after dumping me in one of the many guest rooms, one where the curtains hadn't been torn and the bedsheets didn't smell of death and despair.

Nobody came to see me, to comfort me, try to tell me everything would be alright. Because it wouldn't. I was a mess unfit for the outside world, and I'd failed in my only chance at freedom, but the only one who cared about that was me.

The staff tried to be nice, treating me just like any other sick patient. But I could hear their whispers in the hallway.

Of course, it had only taken a day or two before Whitley came around, hovering outside the room and _accidentally_ walking in on me when I was in the middle of changing. His eyes raked across my body like a hungry Grimm, but I didn't care any longer. Whitley was the only one who acted the same, and for a while I simply let him. Touches, strokes, he wasn't even being subtle. Displaying his dominance over his useless sister and living out his strange, twisted fantasies. I didn't fight back when he pushed me up against the wall or when he pinched me just a little too hard.

Maybe I let him because it made me feel human, wanted, or maybe I had just given up.

I was the Schnee mansion's resident ghost, a body without a soul, just a doll existing for my brother to please his needs with and the maids to dote on.

I stared at the mirror while the hairdresser hummed a tune I'd long forgotten, one of my old ballads. Dully, I stared and stared at the reflection in front of me. Then, like an icicle melting in the spring sun, it slowly dawned on me.

The person in that mirror was _me._ My face, sunken and thin and ugly. My hair, still a mess of tangles after months of neglect, some which not even the maids had been able to work out. My bony shoulders, my thin arms. It was _disgusting._

My thin face twisted in a gruesome grimace. With a roar I didn't know I possessed, I lunged forward, grabbed the mirror from its stand and hurled it to the floor. The hairdresser shrieked, but I just watched the million pieces scattered about, and felt a sense of freedom.

The hairdresser left the room soon after, and I stood, brushing off my night gown, and stepped out into the hallway. Gliding through the corridors and taking in the sights after a year of isolation had become my new pastime. Nobody stopped me, or asked me what I wanted. They treated me more like a Grimm than a human and kept their distance.

In my meaningless walk around the mansion, I passed by the library. Normally, it was the quietest room in the house, but this time there were noises. Very conspicuous noises. The door stood slightly ajar, and I pushed it open just enough to catch sight of my father's back. He was undressed from the waist down and in front of him, mother was bent over a table and crying against the wood.

Mother always looked like she'd been crying, with large bags under her eyes no matter how much makeup she put on. Sometime a few years ago I'd realized she was the kind of mother who'd sooner buy a new wine cellar than a gift for her children. Not that she didn't gush over us, she did; with the same demeanor as one might towards a particularly well-groomed set of poodles. Watching her now, I realized with numb clarity that I was looking at myself. Five, ten, twenty years from now, this was the kind of life waiting for me. He would never let me escape.

Father stopped, and I didn't understand why until he grunted and pulled his scroll out of his jacket.

After looking at it for a moment, he grunted, and reached down to pull his pants up.

"There's been another White Fang raid in Vale. You'd think I have better things to do than chase rabid dogs around Remnant." His voice was dripping with venom as he fastened his belt, then turned around. I hid behind the door, nearly hyperventilating at the idea of being seen. "It's about time someone else learned how to deal with these things. Whitley will come this time, so please. Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

I heard his footsteps close in on the door. Suddenly speared by panic at the idea of facing whatever consequence would come from eavesdropping, I took off down the hallway. I ran as fast as I could, and while my feet slapped against the cold marble, what I'd seen caught up with me.

This was my family; broken and uncaring and cold. Blinded by tears and exhausted by heaving sobs, I pushed past a startled maid, out the front doors and onto the freezing manor grounds. My feet ached and my skin burned with cold, but I kept running and crying until I tripped and fell, then I continued to crawl in a hideous mess of emotions.

I only stopped once I found a sizeable rock, picked it up with trembling fingers and began hacking at my own arm. Each strike was a desperate failure, I was too weak and numb to get a good grasp, and the rock wasn't sharp enough to break skin. Yet I kept trying, and trying, until the rock slipped from my grasp. Then I sat there on my knees and stared emptily at the distant white mountains, and the sunset glowing behind them, with tears streaming down my eyes.

"Well, _that_ was something."

I threw a rageful glare over my shoulder, ready to chase off whichever maid or security guard who'd come to gather me up, but… It wasn't any of our employees, or anyone I knew. Standing there in the cold wind was a girl. A red cloak fluttered behind her, black skirt and red sweater unlike any of the uniforms I was used to seeing around the manor.

"Wh… who are you?"

She regarded me with silver eyes, before smiling at me. "I'm Ruby!"

Dumbfounded, I could only stare. Black snowflakes fluttered around her, or maybe it wasn't snow at all. Dark red hair teased her jawline.

"Why… are you here? The gates…"

She tapped her chin and looked upwards, as if thinking it over. "Well, it was a difficult choice, but in the end, this place kind of smelled better than all the rest, you know?"

I was officially lost. She didn't seem to care, only watched me with curious eyes.

"I saw what happened to your mom."

And now my rage and despair spiked again. I glared at the ground. "It doesn't matter."

I should call security, have her escorted off the property. Then again, I should also crawl back to father and beg for a second chance, I should behave like mother, and obey like Whitley. I clenched my jaw tightly.

"Do you really think it doesn't matter?" Suddenly, she was right in front of me.

"!?" I scrambled to back away from her, but the girl just tilted her head. It didn't seem like she planned on leaving anytime soon.

I glared at her. "Will you leave if I answer?"

"Nope~"

Gritting my teeth, I resigned myself to my fate. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. "I don't see why it's any of your concern, and it's not like I didn't know."

"They do that a lot?"

"My father enjoys exerting a certain… dominance over his family." Just like Whitley.

"Soooo the problem is your dad?"

"Well, yes. Just… my mother too, for allowing that to happen. For never speaking up, never opposing him. If only she'd been stronger, I… I… don't want to be controlled like that. I don't want to be like her.. _._ "

It was a bittersweet topic, because I had no options left to try. Even Winter couldn't magically transform this family for the better. Wasn't that why she'd left? Hadn't she seen the same things I had? But Winter was strong, not like me. I couldn't even finish father's test.

"I hate them. I hate this." Fresh tears began flooding my eyes and I stubbornly wiped them away. I couldn't even feel my hand any longer. Maybe if I just stayed out here, I'd freeze to death and it would all be over.

"Do you want it to stop?" She asked.

She didn't even know what she was talking about, but I still answered honestly. "Yes."

"Do you want to die?"

I thought I did, until she asked.

"No…" I whispered, almost ashamed to admit it. Hadn't I just tried to take my own life? Here I was, failing even at the most basic of tasks.

Surprisingly, her cloak came off, and she draped it over me like a blanket. I stared at it for a few seconds before looking up at her.

"Mhm, looks good!" She grinned.

"It's… not very warm." It was filthy too.

She pouted.

"But… it's a nice thought."

She beamed and took my hand. "Come on. I'll show you something."

/-/

Just like nobody opposed me when I re-entered the mansion, strange girl in tow, I did not oppose Ruby as she pushed open the door to the library.

It was a sizeable room, with shelves full of rare and expensive books that no one had ever read. A single desk stood in the middle of it, dark and imposing, sporting an ornate lamp and a leather chair. Mother sat in the chair, head hung, and an empty glass of wine in her listless hands. Quiet tears trailed down her cheeks, like a mirror image of myself just now. I guess I should have been sad at seeing my mother like this, but I couldn't even conjure a single thought in that direction.

It just made me sick.

"What do you think?" Ruby asked.

"Disgusting," I replied, hardening my gaze at the pitiful sight.

Ruby walked over to mother's side. Mother's head leaned back on the chair, and her glazed eyes didn't show a care or even a spark of recognition. She didn't even flinch when Ruby poked her cheek.

"So you're not like this, then?" The girl asked.

"I'm… nothing like her."

"But people like her made your life what it is."

There was something in this girl's eyes that I couldn't place. It simultaneously scared me and intrigued me.

She trailed her fingers down mother's throat. "They don't care about you, Weiss…"

"Weih…?" Mother's glassy eyes turned to look, but the smile that draped over her lips were just as fake as her plastic nails. "Aaaaaaaah… my lil baby girl … look whatcha did to your f-fahahather… He'sh sho angry thesh dayssss."

"Mother…" My fists shook and my eyes burned with treacherous tears. I didn't want to cry in front of this woman. "You never once stood up to him, did you? Did you even _care_ what he was doing?"

"Ish better to jush…" she uselessly raised her hand in a careless wave, "not care, you knoh? I get money… and wiiiiiiiine. Hee hee." She hiccupped.

Ruby's grin revealed fangs too sharp to be human. Something lurked in her gaze, something dark and hungering which only kept growing the longer the rambling woman went on. As if she reveled in mother's misery, in my broken family.

When Ruby spoke, it was with great satisfaction painting her voice. "Weiss… do you wanna change your life?" She leaned in, stroking mother's long, white hair. The only part of her I'd inherited, apart from her semblance. Or so I would make sure. Mother giggled at the attention, but even now tears streaked down her cheeks.

Ruby's gaze lingered on me, the glow in them flickered like flames. I had goosebumps on my skin. Strangeness aside, there was a… presence, about the girl, which pushed at me from every side. If I turned around, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a gaping monster ready to devour me.

Although I had the feeling the monster was right in front of me.

"How?" My tongue felt thick in my mouth.

"Wellllll~ You did summon me, soooo I'll give you a choice. You can take back your life… oooooor I'll take it for you!" She grinned, but nothing in that expression made me feel any kind of joy. I stared at her sharp canines, which looked like they could easily break skin. Was she some kind of Grimm?

Fear, disgust, hope, anger, I don't know which was strongest. I forced my eyes to move away from the odd girl and stared at my mother's empty eyes and lifeless expression. Even her giggles had stopped.

If I continued down _this_ path, I might as well have my life taken here and now.

But I had one more question.

"What is the price?"

"Huh?" The girl cocked her head and blinked.

"...the price. You said I could take back my life. I'm assuming you mean you'll help me, and I assume you'll be asking for a price. Or are you saying you're doing this for free?" I frowned. I might not have much experience with whatever kind of deal this was, but I knew how business worked. Nobody gave away their services for free.

"Uh." But this girl looked honestly lost. "I… hadn't thought about that. They didn't tell me. Should I charge lien, or…?" She put a hand to her chin in concern.

Was this girl for real? "How can you _not_ know? Aren't you some kind of demon?"

"I'm really new at this, okay! I've never done a partnership before, so I don't know!"

"Are you stupid? How can you come here and propose a deal without telling me what I have to trade?"

"Geh – it's not my fault! Your scent was just so good I couldn't help myself!"

"Are you sure you're not just some kid who got lost on the manor grounds?"

"I'm not a kid!"

"You could have fooled me! You don't even know how to conduct the simplest of deals without screwing it up, do you?"

"Grrrr I just need to figure it out, okay! Lemme think!"

"Weissssssh, can you turn down the holovisio-"

"Shut up!" Ruby snarled and flung a fist out. It connected to the side of mother's head with a sickening _crunch_. Mother, chair and all, crashed to the floor in a heap of limbs and furniture. There she lay, staring at the ceiling, with one eye popped from her socket.

"!" My throat closed in nausea, while Ruby stared wide-eyed at the damage.

"Wooops. Awww shucks. I wasted her." Ruby's shoulders sagged, then she looked at me and grimaced. "…sorry?"

"Sorry!? What are you, retarded!? You just killed her!"

"It was an accident!" Ruby raised her hands. "Okay, you know what, fine! That's the price! I killed your mom, so you've paid your entrance fee, okay? So I'll help you, and then you help me out, and we've got a deal. It's easy, really, you just gotta point and I'll shoot."

"Are you planning to kill _more_ people!?"

"Only the ones you say! ...okay I was planning to take as many as possible, but I'll give you a – a discount, okay? You choose the targets! Unless I'm really hungry, then we'll have to figure things out. And you have to choose good ones!"

"Is this really how entering a demonic contract usually works?"

"I have no idea! I just know I need a partner – an anchor or whatever you want to call it – or else I can't really stick around for very long. You wouldn't _believe_ the amount of energy it takes just to stay corporeal here, sheesh."

This girl was completely hopeless. I pinched the bridge of my nose, and glanced at my mother. Her popped eye was still attached to her eye socket in a red string of nerves and a trail of blood trickles out of her nostrils. Actually, I'm surprised at how little I felt at seeing her like that. I suppose, to me she'd already been dead for many years. She'd been just another of father's toys.

And despite being an utter dunce, this girl obviously possessed some serious power.

I could use that power.

"Fine." I made a decision. "But you have to promise me you'll do better than that."

"It's not like you didn't want her dead…" she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"You want your entire family gone, right?" Ruby glanced up at me with a sulk. "I can probably take them all out now..."

Big words for someone who just screwed up a simple contract.

"Do you have any skills besides punching people's heads in?"

"I do have my scythe, but uuh, I can't really summon it right now. I need to get stronger first…" she kicked at the floor, as if bashful at the fact. "I really only have my semblance and strength right now… and I need energy to use them."

So I was stuck with some rookie demon or what? It didn't matter. This was more than I'd had just an hour ago. I finally felt something akin to life again. Like my blood had begun to trickle through my veins after ages of standstill.

"Then we can't risk it. This mansion is nothing if not a fortress of defense systems. I don't want to claim my freedom only to end up in jail. Speaking of," I gestured at mother's lifeless body, "we should leave."

"Are you okay with that? I mean, I could get you out, but I really do need something to eat soon."

Actually, the idea thrilled me. Just getting away, for a single moment, would be a breath of fresh air. Could I really just leave? And put my fate into the hands of a stranger? Well, who said I couldn't?

"My father is already on his way away from here and won't be back for several days. We should use this time to our very best. I still need to see what you can do, and we need a plan for how to not get ourselves immediately caught." Besides, I'd sooner suffocate in a bucket of bile than stay another day holed up here.

As if I'd switched on a light, she beamed. "Okay! This is awesome, I got a partner~"

She skipped over to me and grabbed me by the hand.

"There's just one more thing to do before it's complete!" Ruby smiled and pulled my hand up, then clamped her jaw around my wrist. Sharp teeth punctured my skin and drew blood.

"What!?" I cried out, and tried to pull away in reflex, but she held me. Her eyes glowed a brilliant white and the teeth digging into my skin stung and burned. Dark lines grew across my skin and disappeared beneath the sleeve of my night gown. In a panic I pulled it up to look, only to watch as the lines formed what I assumed to be a mark representing our contract.

A smoldering rose.

XXX

Memories of the past made way to a striking, insistent smell. Ultimately, it was that smell which woke me up. I knew it so well, having lived in it for so long. My eyes flew open and everything hit me like a punch.

I was in a bed.

 _My_ bed.

Panic gripped me. I flung off the covers and all but jumped out of bed, but my legs didn't cooperate and collapsed as soon as I put any weight on them. My wrist banged against the cold tiles, but I didn't even feel pain. Driven by pure survival instinct, I half crawled, half stumbled towards the door, crying and hiccupping and probably looking like a total mess.

Had I been of stronger build the door handle would have ripped out of its socket. As soon as I remembered that it had to be _turned_ , the door flew open and crashed into the wall. It wasn't locked! Just like that, the adrenaline drained out of me. I sank back to the floor and heaved and sobbed.

"I see you're finally awake." A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up through clouded eyes. My heart jumped.

"Winter!"

I jumped to my feet and flung my arms around her waist.

"You shouldn't leave bed so carelessly, Weiss." She helped me limp back, although just seeing the familiar bed made me want to vomit. Had they even changed the mattress? The sheets? A quick glance around the room told me someone'd done _something_ , at the very least. The curtains were no longer torn and tattered after months of multipurpose use.

Let's just say, being locked up does not remove inconveniences such as bleeding once a month. There cannot have been a single untouched piece of fabric left in that room. Yet now it looked completely new.

But the smell remained, or perhaps it was so ingrained into my memory that I could smell it even now. When Winter took me back to bed, I refused to lay down and just sat precariously at the edge.

My sister stood before me and gave me a searching look.

"Weiss. What in the world are you _doing_?"

Her incredulous tone made _me_ surprised too. "What do you mean?"

Winter sighed and sat on the bed beside me. It was the most relaxed I'd seen her for ages.

"Your aura was completely depleted when you were found, and it doesn't seem to recover very well either. You're lucky Ciel and Penny found you when they did. I never thought Klein would be the mastermind behind all this…"

Although his name brought nothing but anger, I felt the need to correct that. "He's not. Roman Torchwick is."

"Who?" But before I could answer, Winter raised her hand. "No, don't. Not right now. Weiss, you are not well. You left this place under extremely… _unhealthy_ circumstances. What with yourself recovering from your ailment, and mother's sudden passing, the stress has really gotten to father."

That surreal logic was enough to inject new energy into me. "He was the one who locked me up here!"

"At your request, was it not?"

"No! I was – I just – I didn't think it'd be like that!"

"Weiss…" she shook her head slowly, and the fight drained out of me. Mostly because I couldn't find the energy to keep yelling. Instead, I huffed my displeasure. Of course I knew I should have thought it through better. I'd underestimated how far father was willing to go to "test" me.

Winter didn't give any indication that she picked up on my contempt. "Who was that girl with you?"

That's right. Ruby… what happened to her? I saw her get torn apart before my very eyes, but just like her victims, there was no body. Did Winter even know _what_ she was? Apparently they had exchanged blows, but…

I tried to fake it. "What girl?"

"That's not going to work, Weiss. The girl with the red cloak. You were with her in Gimmel's apartment, and Penny and Ciel saw you two at the riverbank. What in the world have you gotten yourself mixed up in?"

I countered her accusation with my own. "And what are _your_ people doing, attacking an innocent girl like that? They _killed_ her!"

"Innocent is hardly the right word. She killed several trained officers that night. I was very surprised when Ciel reported seeing her at your side afterwards."

"Wait…" It dawned on me. When Ruby's arm was blown apart, crippling her, the girl in the beret had been reporting to someone. " _You_ ordered them to kill Ruby."

Not a speck of guilt entered Winter's expression. "I deemed it necessary for the safety of my sister. That girl was not normal, and a killer to boot."

"She was my friend!" More than that, she'd been my ticket out of this nightmare. What was I going to do now?

"She killed more than half a squadron of highly trained officers and vanished into thin air when I fought her. What's more, she was observed with a large weapon at the site of Klein's presumed death. Whatever you think that girl was, _friend_ is not it."

"You don't even know _anything_ about her!"

"And neither do you, if I'm to wager. How did you meet? Where was she from? Was she involved in mother's passing and your escape from the mansion? What are these rumors about you showing up in night clubs and appearing at scenes where only criminals and murderers should be?" Winter sighed when I stubbornly looked away. "You are a Schnee. That means a lot of people will want to use you for their own ends. You should _not_ be wandering the streets of Atlas all alone, in the company of some… psychopath."

I glared at the floor. "Is that why you brought me back here?" There was more malice in my voice than I intended.

"The Schnee manor is the safest place for you right now, Weiss. You need rest, and to build your strength back up. You're still thin as a stick and running around in the streets hasn't helped."

"And you think locking me up here will? That man let me _starve_ , Winter! He's a tyrant!"

 _SLAP_

Her hand came quicker than I could dodge. It stung across my cheek, but not as much as it stung in my soul. The shock hurt more than the slap itself. As I cradled my cheek, tears began burning in my eyes.

"Winter…?"

Winter stood, and her glare was glacial. Then, she pulled a deep breath and released it.

"Mind your manners, Weiss. What you are speaking of is the neglect of your butler, whom I believe have already been punished quite thoroughly. Not only did he allow you to fall to such a state, but he even ran an underground organization right beneath our noses. Being out there, I'm sure you've seen the state of some of our citizens. Be glad you aren't one of them anymore."

Judging by her tone, I should be glad I wasn't in jail, or worse. No doubt my involvement in all this was unquestionable. Just how many strings had she pulled to get me back here?

I wished she hadn't. I wished she'd let me freeze to death by that riverbed, or better yet, never involved herself in our affairs in the first place.

Winter's boots clacked against the floor as she walked back to the door. There, she paused.

"I'll talk to you more later, Weiss. Try to get some rest." With that she left, trading places with a maid carrying a silver tray with a steaming bowl of water and a washcloth. She looked rather surprised to see Winter, and immediately began fussing over me the second she realized I was awake.

"I'm fine," I hissed, knocking her hands away, and the maid retreated, apologizing profusely, and left the room, presumably to report my waking up to someone who cared. I didn't even know her name. I hadn't seen any of the staff aside for Klein for a year now. This wasn't my home. These velvety sheets, luxurious furniture and polished marble floors – it was all a cheap paint hiding the hideous tapestry beneath.

And now I was back.

With a cry of rage I grabbed one of the pillows and flung it at the tray the maid had left on my night table. It knocked the bowl over and spilled hot water over the floor, cracking the expensive ceramic against the tiles.

Feeling drained, I smothered my face into the sheets and screamed as loud as I could.

When the maid returned with a meal and glass of water, I was completely spent. I refused to look at her, or acknowledge her existence. I pretended not to hear as she cleaned up the ceramics, or her apologizing again.

Only when the door closed and the room returned to a familiar silence did I slowly sit up.

I hadn't eaten properly in months, but my appetite didn't exist in the first place. A bowl of soup stood on my night stand now, creamy yellow and sickeningly reminiscent of the last few meals Klein had brought me.

I didn't spill it, but neither did I pick up the spoon. Instead, I got up, and this time my legs didn't buckle as soon as I tried to stand. I marched over to the tall windows and pulled the curtains aside. Outside, the snowy cold manor grounds stretched out, overlooked by a brilliantly blue sky for the time being. In the distance, a couple of airships floated on the wind.

Maybe if I could steal one, I'd be able to leave. As if I could even fly it. Even if I somehow managed to bribe my way onto one, how far would I be able to go? Father's sticky fingers intertwined with every kingdom, across all of Remnant. If I wanted to be free…

...he had to vanish.

I stared into my own reflection and felt an indescribable desire to smash it.

"Where the hell are you!?" I bent my neck and screamed at the ceiling, not sure if I was calling for my father in order to murder him with my bare hands, or for someone else. Whichever it was, it was like my voice shook something loose from the pristine white ceiling, as something came fluttering down.

A single flake of ash. Just one, but completely misplaced in the spotless room. It withered against my outstretched hand, not even leaving a black smear. And just like that, a flare of hope returned.

She was still here.

Injured? Unable to take physical form due to the damage she sustained? I didn't know, but that single piece of ash filled me with new determination.

I knew what to do. If Ruby were too weak to manifest, I'd have to provide new energy.

I needed to find a victim.

Of course, I couldn't just go out of my way and have one of the maids vanish, especially not right under my father's nose. When I said I wanted to clean Atlas of the corrupt, I meant it. That did not include every single person around.

My renewed purpose was much needed however. Now that I had a goal, I managed to empty most of the soup, despite the nauseous memories it brought. I needed my strength if I were to do this, and by the gods was I going to do it.

I couldn't choose anyone in this mansion, not without the risk of putting myself in danger.

But I knew just where I'd find someone fitting.

* * *

 **A/N:** A slower chapter this time, and it also gives us some background on how Weiss and Ruby met. And we get to see the Ice Sisters interact. Fight on, Weiss~


	5. Act 2: Chapter 5

**Act 2: Chapter 5**

Ruby had shown me a completely different world, and now that I was back in my prison, I could truly appreciate the freedom we'd had. Even if Torchwick was a dick and ended up betraying us, even if I'd had no shower, no bed and nowhere to go, it was still better than that year.

I'd had a partner.

Right now, I was scouring this banquet to find a fitting victim in the throng of better-than-thou's.

Father had been quite surprised when I came to him and asked what I could do in order to return to my former role with the company. I made it sound like I'd really thought things through and had given up on the idea of becoming a huntress. Though I could tell he didn't completely believe me, he did give me this chance.

All I had to do was to do was re-enter the world I'd left behind one year ago.

So this was it, my re-entry into fame and glory and honorable Schnee manipulation. This was a joint convention, meaning it contained several floors across several buildings worth of stands, showcasings and business opportunities. I'd already given a press conference earlier, on how I was on recovery's way from my "sudden sickness". Now, my role was to attend to banquet and entertain some of the important guests visiting the convention.

Father had already made it clear what he expected, and it was nothing short of perfection as always. The man himself had pulled Whitley along to look at some of the new dust weaponry being displayed in one of the floors. Keeping up appearances with business partners was important, after all.

That left me to prowl the banquet itself. More of a lounging area, really; where the guests came to enjoy some refreshments and discuss with each other in relative peace and quiet. The convention center was perhaps Atlas's biggest building apart from the joined academy and military base. The banquet was nothing short of a giant display of wealth and pride, of course supplied only by the finest chefs money could buy.

As I walked through the room and observed the high and mighty aristocrats of Atlas, I was disgusted to find a small part of me had actually missed this. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect. Fake smiles, fake laughter, fake faces. Why yes, Mrs. Pollitzer, I am doing quite well thank you, and what a lovely necklace. Laugh politely at a joke, smile charmingly at the man in the fine suit. Be the perfect Schnee. It was a routine I'd practiced my whole life.

On the bright side, finding an acceptable target would be easy. Finding an _easy_ one required a bit more tactic however. These guests came from all walks of life, be it military officers, trophy wives or businessmen and women. I believe I even saw some trophy _husbands_ as well within the bunch.

I didn't know Ruby's state, exactly, and couldn't risk picking someone who could fight back.

"Sister!"

And there's the leech I cannot seem to escape. Silently huffing to myself, I stopped in my hunt to smile at Whitley.

"Hello, Whitley. I thought you were still with father."

"Oh, he let me off a while ago. He's already joining some old friends for a social time and allowed me to mingle on my own."

"How wonderful." I gave him the fakest smile I could manage.

He stepped a little too close and grabbed my hand in both of his. There was nothing unplanned in that move, judging by the knowing smirk in his eyes. His perfume was especially strong today. Had he borrowed father's again?

"I wished to tell you how proud I am of you, Weiss. That speech you gave to the press was so inspiring." Whitley only ever gushed over me like this when he wanted something.

"Why thank you."

As if I'd somehow invited him, he stepped into place beside me and curled an arm around my waist. "Indeed, what with going through the things you've done, it is admirable to be able to stand on a stage again so soon."

His touch burned through my dress and I had to fight the desire to pull away. Keep up appearances for a while yet, Weiss, just hold on. Ruining my only chance at getting my partner back was _not_ part of the plan. Even if it meant putting up with my _dear_ little brother.

The knife I'd picked from one of the banquet tables earlier shifted against my skin as I walked. I'd stuffed it into my bra on a whim. Not sure what I planned to do, but with Whitley this close my mind raced with possibilities. Sadly, he pulled me along to a group of people before I could enact any of my fantasies into reality.

"I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine," Whitley said, and gestured at one of the party mongers who turned around at his prompt. This guy sported a haircut from the latest fashion magazine and a formal suit that probably cost more than every single piece of thing that had ever passed through the landfill. Yes, this is me now; comparing luxury to trash.

His perfect smile was only matched by his equally practiced bow.

"It's an honor to finally meet you in person, Miss Schnee."

"Likewise." Whoever you are. Wonder if I could manage to seclude him from the group somehow. Play naïve and charmed? Maybe.

"Oh, I'm hardly special," he chuckled. "You, however, grace this room with your mere presence." Do not roll your eyes, Weiss. Just silently cringe inside.

"Henry Marigold." He raised his hand, and I returned the gesture. To me, it was something I'd done a million times before and it meant nothing to me this time either. So when his lips met the skin of my hand, the pang of anger I felt came as a surprise.

It didn't originate from me, which meant it belonged to a certain redheaded someone else.

 _Don't tell me you're jealous?_ I smirked to myself, which sadly, what's-his-name interpreted as a pleased smile, judging by his wink. These people really did have their heads up their asses. I'm ashamed to admit I used to be one of them.

No worries, Ruby, I promise this is all platonic at best. Though I have to admit, teasing the little demon might be more entertaining than it should.

"How are you enjoying the convention so far, Miss Schnee?"

"Oh, the banquet is lovely."

He chuckled in that practiced manner. "I would guess you're not the type of girl to enjoy weaponry and work machines. I'll admit, I'm only here for the food and drinks myself. And the extraordinary company, of course."

Of course. With introductions out of the way, Henry Forgettable proceeded to loudly compliment me on my press conference earlier, even though my father had done most of the talking. He told me how he'd been a fan ever since I first started singing. He even managed to procure a light blush as he asked if I'd allow him to compliment my "beautiful eyes". With that particular line, I could only stare at his own dull eyes and compare them to a certain silver-eyed demon I'd made an acquaintance of lately.

To be fair, he _was_ handsome. The kind of handsome that takes great care to always look presentable simply because there may be someone important nearby.

"My sister is hard to please," Whitley said smugly. His arm had yet to leave my waist.

"In that case, I'd love to show you my favorite part of the convention. Would you like to accompany me into the garden?"

My heart jumped oddly, because I realized this might actually be my chance.

"That would be fine," I agreed. Actually, getting some fresh air sounded just perfect anyway.

To my annoyance, Whitley followed us as we picked up our coats and even when we made for the balcony exit. The glass doors took us out onto terrace where dust-driven heat lamps mounted the ceiling. A couple of guests stood quietly conversing over their champagne glasses.

We walked across the stone floor and down the short staircase. A gravel path led through the garden, the size of which probably employed at least five different gardeners. Two security officers watched over the gravel and snow and looked bored out of their minds. One of them tried to hide his scroll from view as we passed by, but would no doubt get back to it as soon as we left.

It was a beautiful garden. Icicles hung from evergreen tree branches, and other Atlesian plants and flowers created a show of icy patterns and figures all around us. Despite my coat, the cold stung what patches of skin it found.

"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling slightly uneasy by how far we were walking. High heels wasn't best fit for a long trek in this weather.

"It's not much farther," Henry assured me.

I didn't protest them again, merely concerned by the fact that I now had two of them here. Was this idea even executable?

While my heart began thudding more quickly, we took a turn, and I stopped in confusion.

We'd reached the parking lot. The place was deserted apart from the numerous parked cars. One trailer stood to the side, back open. From inside I heard barks and shuffles, and my feet stopped walking. Whitley grabbed me by the arm to pull me along.

The ramp sang metallic under our shoes as we went into the back of the truck. Several cages, twice my height, lined the compartment on both sides, all the way to the inner wall. Each cage held a different dog. I recognized their breed at once. The hairy beasts could pull a sled to any excavation site, transport gear to a new mine, and even fend off lesser Grimm if need be.

War Huskies. They were a special type of soldiers only fit for the harsh climate in Atlas.

"We actually had them on display earlier," Henry said. "They're my family's pride. Years of hard work and selective breeding to create the finest specimens of them all. Well, not me. I only enjoy the spoils." He winked.

"They're awfully loud," I said.

"Well, it _is_ mating season."

That was a piece of information I didn't need to know.

"Alright… well, they're certainly… impressive?"

Henry produced a key from a pocket with a glint in his eye. "Let's greet them properly, why don't we?"

Something was _really_ off about this.

"Actually, I'm fine with them in there."

Whitley rolled his eyes at Henry, not even bothering to try and hide it from me, and took the key from Henry.

"Find the one with his dick out." Henry took my arm in Whitley's place.

"What!?"

"Don't worry, Miss Schnee, this is all for fun." Henry grinned at me. I tried to yank my arm loose, but my pitiful strength was no match. Instead, he pulled me into his chest.

 _Ruby!_

I don't know what I'd imagined. That Ruby would show up and save me like some heroic knight? The sudden spike of fear made me shriek and grab for the hidden knife, only to fumble when he retaliated. He managed to snatch my wrist and I dropped the knife to the floor in a noisy clatter.

Shit!

He had me trapped now, both of my hands at my back, and he forced me to bend over and flung my coat and dress up onto my back, exposing my underwear. Even when I tried to kick him back, he just chuckled in his practiced manner and pulled my panties down.

I had prime view of Whitley as he came back, holding the biggest dog I'd ever seen by the scruff of its neck, not that his tiny build was in any command of that beast. He'd pulled his scroll out, grinning like a serial murderer. The dog was no better, barking and panting and was that its _penis_? Grimm and dust, they really meant it.

With waning strength I tried to struggle once more.

The dog started humping as soon as he could put his paws on me, with no regard to the position. I couldn't even stand straight with its sheer weight pushing at me and ended up smothered beneath fur and drool and animalistic breath. I felt its reproductive organ slap against my body, the grossest feeling I'd ever had the displeasure of experiencing. I screamed and struggled anew, but the massive dog limbs holding me in place was no easier to shake off than Henry had been.

"I told you," Whitley grinned while filming it all on his scroll.

"I admit, I didn't think you'd do it, Schnee. Looks like I owe you."

"Just make sure the driver is properly punished for this atrocious oversight of security."

"Naturally."

I lay there, helplessly harassed by the beast of a dog, trying to protect my exposed openings from its gross appendage even as it stepped all over me with its dirty paws. Reduced to a mess of sobs and tears and snot, I hated myself and the world.

Why was I so _useless_?

Why couldn't I just _die_?

And why was my arm _burning_?

The other dogs around us barked, hissed and snarled while the giant husky left his sticky semen all over my clothes. I wanted to vanish into a black hole and get lost in nothingness. I put my arms over my head and sobbed into the ground. Henry and Whitley's disturbed snorts of laughter became a monotone in my head and the dogs around us grew ever more agitated.

Numbness spread inside me, as if all the fear and rage drained right out of me. Soon, my sobs felt empty and… strange.

There was a flurry of movement. First, Henry shrieked. His feet shuffled as if he tried to turn everywhere at once and I could make out him clutching his neck.

"What?" Whitley still had his scroll up.

"Something bit me!"

Then, a loud yelp sounded above me and the dog jerked as if someone had struck it with a stick. Its fear, combined with bestial instincts and Henry's wild movements, manifested in a lunge towards the nearest target. Huge jaws clamped onto Henry's arm and his shriek pierced the air, louder than even the continuous barks.

I sat up on my knees, trembling like a leaf. Around me, the trailer erupted in chaos. Whitley tried to kick the dog off Henry, but only managed to aggravate the other dogs even more. These were trained War Huskies, they knew to attack an enemy targeting one of their own, and now they were determined to do so.

A jingle of keys and the click of a lock. One, two, three cages burst open.

I clambered aside when the giant beasts stormed past, and desperately pulled my underpants back up. Tears blurred my vision and my head span, but I managed to get the cloth back in place. The air throbbed around me, a warmth seeping into it and wrapping around me like an invisible blanket. As Henry and Whitley's screams continued, a powerful feeling filled me up, so raw and unexpected that my breath caught in my throat.

Ash twirled in a lazy fashion and gathered at a point in front of me, manifesting into a familiar figure that I'd come to be so reliant on.

My eyes ruptured with tears.

"Ruby, you jerk!" I wanted to hug her, kiss her, punch her. She rewarded me with a grimace.

"Hey, Weiss. Ugh," she stuck her tongue out in disgust, "I'm never gonna get the taste of dog out of my mouth."

Her carefree attitude didn't match the aura of darkness surrounding her, a literal cloud of black smoke continuously raising from her skin. She was far from healed; her body still oozed from black gashes where she'd been ripped apart. Her hand still missed a couple of fingers and the red sweater was ruined.

But she was _here_.

Her arrival did more than just calm my frayed nerves. The dogs she'd let loose stopped ravaging the two boys and turned to snarl and whimper at the demon. The big dog who'd been all over me, and who Ruby had already injured, seemed less eager to give in yet. It lunged forward with a snarl, and that was its end. Ruby caught the beast by the throat and smacked her fist on top of its head, flattening its skull in one sickening crunch. She didn't even care to bite into it and suck out its soul, just flung it aside carelessly. It didn't matter, because its body turned to ash soon after.

Ruby brandished her fangs in a snarl of rage. The rest of the dogs retreated further into the trailer, ears flat and tails between their leg. Left behind was Whitley's broken form. He lay huddled at the top of the ramp with several bites and lacerations across his body, most severely on his right shin. It had been completely mutilated, chunks of flesh ripped out and a pool of blood gathering beneath him.

Henry was just a mess. His glossy eyes stared emptily at the floor; one of the dogs had gotten to his throat and he'd either suffocated or bled to death. Now, his body slowly disintegrated in a trail of ashes.

Ruby popped her neck and rolled her newly grown arm. The sleeve was entirely gone exposing new, spot-free skin.

"Jeez, leeching is so _boring_."

The last of his body became nothing but dust, and a moment later, it all blew away on the wind. Ruby's eyes glowed, and her wounds smoked as they slowly closed up beneath shredded clothes.

Demonic eyes settled on Whitley, and he whimpered, trying feebly to crawl down the ramp.

He didn't get far. Ruby stalked over and pulled Whitley up by the scruff of his coat. He wailed helplessly, but had nothing with which to stand against the demon as she pulled him up, gazing at him with a curious expression.

My heart thudded expectantly, almost achingly awaiting my brother's fate.

"Boo," Ruby said, and giggled when Whitley shrunk back with tears running down his face. "Hmmm. Tiny." She cocked her head. "Why don't you have your aura unlocked?"

He wheezed in response.

"Because he's not _a barbarian,_ " I said, with so much venom it's a miracle my tongue didn't melt. "He thinks licking father's feet is going to give him exactly what he wants. Besides, he didn't inherit the skills necessary to fight."

Ruby wasn't listening any longer. She'd turned her head and her eyes seemed unfocused.

There were voices, and thumping boots. Security, I dimly realized. Maybe the driver of this truck too. I knew what Ruby was asking. She'd just started eating, and she needed a lot of energy to replace everything she'd lost to that gingerhead.

She was already close to bursting at the seams with barely restrained eager.

Where had security been when I was taken away and pushed into this place? Looking bored and staring into their scrolls? My own hatred boiled to the surface, shame and fear fueling it even more. Ruby's hungry gaze flickered to me. The appreciative look made me feel stronger than ever.

"Go wild, Ruby."

XXX

When the men finally did reach the trailer ramp, they didn't see much but fur, saliva and a red and black blur before their lives ended. Ruby didn't play, not with them. It was pure, unadultered slaughter. As their souls added to her recovery, the feeling of hunger tickling in the back of my mind grew denser.

I knew I'd released an imaginary leash. I just didn't know, exactly, what that meant.

The convention was enormous; they couldn't possibly call in enough security at once. The banquet hall was the first place to become a warzone. Armed guests and security personnel did an admirable job, trying to hold back the onslaught of dogs that suddenly poured over them. Windows shattered under gunfire and powerful beasts whose craze only seemed to grow by the second. Like Grimm, the panic amongst the guests seemed to feed their ferocity ever more.

Behind the lines, guests were evacuated further into the center, and were it only the dogs, they might even have gotten the situation under control.

It wasn't though. The guards leading guests to safety soon became preoccupied with the black and red blur of teeth and power. Even without her scythe, Ruby was a formidable force. A nick here and there didn't matter, she just pulled weapons from their hands and ripped through their auras with punches that could shatter walls. Dogs or men, there was no difference, she tore down everyone. None of these were on Winter's level, and certainly not that girl who'd ripped her apart.

I huddled in the bushes outside, just watching the massacre unfold through the frozen branches. Somehow, I felt like I was in there with her. I was the one who'd told her to go wild, I was the one who'd opened the rest of the cages and let those disgusting mutts loose.

"S-Sis…" Whitley's feeble voice squeaked from the ground. He was a mess, his leg completely useless, and he looked like he was about to vomit. I'd dragged him all the way here, since he was in no state to walk by himself. Between his mutilated leg and the newly acquired mark on his arm he was in no state to do anything.

Ruby had bitten him just like she'd bitten me, and looking at the resulting mark made me feel sick. His was different, though, just a single rose petal. It didn't mean anything like mine.

Screams and gunshots, splintering glass, barks and snarls and more screams sang around us. Suddenly, a massive dog flew at us with a fountain of blood pulsing from its gut. I just barely managed to raise my hand and blocked its body from hitting us with a shining glyph.

Great, if I kept putting myself in situations like this, perhaps I'd finally master it.

I had other things to worry about right now however. I'd told Ruby to go wild, sure, but…

I could feel it in the back of my mind, the eager and absolute _delight_ at being allowed to let loose. It manifested in an almost childish glee as she blasted through guests, dodged sword strikes, taunted those who could fight and terrified those who could not. Each death fueled her drive, her power, and soon, what had started as childish glee became bloodlust.

Had I done something I couldn't take back?

Ruby thrived on chaos, and just like back with Torchwick, and in Gimmel's kitchen, the negativity festering among the guests pushed her further and further down the path of a beast.

I couldn't see much, but I didn't need to. The screaming, gunshots, clashing of metal, barking and yelling was more than enough.

It took a long while before my ears stopped ringing and I realized that silence prevailed. A lazy drift of snow had begun falling, layering Whitley and myself in a white blanket.

 _Crunch._ Boots against snow pierced the air, and I looked up in time to catch a glinting blade.

I pulled back with an undignified yelp while the frozen bushes in front of me shattered under the horizontal swing of the massive weapon. Revealed behind it was Ruby, absolutely drenched in blood.

"Weiss! Let's go!" She beamed at me and planted the shaft of her scythe into the ground.

"G-Go? Where?"

"The ones that got away – I can't reach the exit with this range but I really wanna hunt them all down and eat more so you should come too and we'll have fun together!"

I barely followed that string of rapidfire words. Ruby's eyes were alight with eager, she visibly trembled and kept licking her lips.

"Ruby, are… you okay?"

"Come on, Weiss, they're gonna get away! Let's go kill them!" If she whined any more she'd be no better than those huskies. "And there was this one security guard, he was a real tough one and I didn't even get to mark him, he just kept parrying everything and punched my face—"

"Ruby!" I cut off her rambling, which was steadily descending into growls. Once her intense gaze focused on me, I continued. "We can't go after them now. We can't risk getting caught."

She kept staring at me like I spoke another language.

"…Ruby, how many people did you just eat?"

Her fangs flashed in a wide grin. " _Not enough_."

Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay, go. "Alright. You're obviously high, and I won't let you blow our cover by trying to take on Atlas's entire police force. In fact, we should get away from here before someone—" like Winter or that girl with the swords came along, I was about to say, but cut off abruptly when Ruby suddenly swung her scythe. I barely managed to throw myself aside, but Whitley wasn't as lucky. The tip of the massive blade impaled his lower back and pinned him in place.

A soft whine escaped his mouth like the air going out of a balloon. His face was covered by tears, snot and blood.

"Ruby!"

"He was crawling. Tryina get away."

"You nearly hit _me_ , you dunce!"

"Should I eat him? He's bad, he hurt you, I wanna hurt him back, but I wanna eat, what should I do Weiss?"

I reached out and grabbed her hand. "Calm down!"

It had the opposite effect of what I'd hoped. The second I touched her, Ruby moved, pushed me to the ground and trapped my hands with her own. A flurry of fresh snow cascaded around us, and before I could gather my bearings, her mouth was on mine.

"—!" My legs shuffled, but struggling only made Ruby hold me harder, all but smothering me with her own body. It wasn't really a kiss, as much as a hungry, uncontrolled urge to ravage something, _someone,_ and retaining the high for as long as she could. My feelings of fear, anger, hatred, all of it sucked right out of me.

I breathed into her mouth, soaking in the calm warmth left behind by her attention. Snowflakes blanketed us in a silent cocoon. While Ruby's fangs nicked at my lips, my fingers rose to grip her tattered hoodie, to wipe blood from her face with my thumb, to feel her skin and flesh and muscle and everything that made her real.

Suddenly, Ruby hissed, a flash of silver entering her eyes and her hands squeezing my arms more tightly. Dimly, I noted the black ashes twirling up behind us, and for a moment I felt a pang of regret that I hadn't seen him go – then that too was robbed from me by Ruby's hungry kiss.

Her fingers ran through my hair and down my arm, my lip was swollen and tasted coppery, but I felt better than I ever had.

So good, that even when faint voices sounded from within the convention center once more, I didn't want to stop.

"Ruby."

I had to though. I couldn't risk losing her again.

"I'll kill them." She growled against my lips.

"You can't kill every human in Atlas. What if that girl with the swords shows up again?"

Her eyes glinted darkly at the thought, but whatever idea she was entertaining, I wouldn't risk it.

"We can't, Ruby. You're the one who told me you have no aura protection, right? We need to build your strength before we take on those kind of foes. And… I need to get stronger too." Much stronger, if today was anything to judge by. How was I supposed to hold my head high if I couldn't even defend myself? "Please, just hide for now?"

She pouted, _nearly_ smothering my confidence, but I levelled her with my iciest glare. With a huff she pulled back, instantly leaving me in the cold. She grabbed Crescent Rose and yanked it from the ground. The weapon vanished in a trail of ashes.

"I'll be right here."

My heart hammered as I watched her ashes drift off as well, but I reminded myself that this time, she was not in pieces.

Nothing would stop us now.

* * *

 **A/N:** Weiss getting distracted by Ruby kisses? Maybe this'll become that love story after all.

There was a billion ways to take out Whitley, and I rewrote his death three times. In the end, I found this to be most fitting; just ignored and forgotten like a squashed bug on the road.

Also, my mind is heavily influenced by Life is Strange right now, so if Weiss ends up sounding like Max some places... that'd be weird.

"Wowsers, Ruby, your scythe is _awesome_!"


	6. Act 2: Chapter 6

**Act 2: Chapter 6**

If birds ever chirped in Atlas, today was the day. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and within the Schnee mansion, Weiss Schnee was humming to one of her own tunes.

That never happened.

And yet there I was, humming and skipping through my room, with an armful of towels and a bathrobe on top.

Every news station in the kingdom spoke of the terrible tragedy at the convention, the sudden loss of the Schnee heir, and the mountain of other victims who had not even all been identified at the time of speaking. A Grimm attack, or worse? The journalists had no answers. Atlas was in mourning, and I had never felt better.

With Whitley gone, and father locked up in his study, I was once again enjoying more freedom than I'd ever had.

I entered my private little bathroom and a heavy scent of strawberry slammed against me. The tub was overflowing with pink bubbles.

"Ruby, I got you a towel, and we need to talk."

"Okay!" Ruby answered from within the soap mountain. "What's up?"

"Now that you're healed, we need to plan our next move. You _are_ healed, right?"

"Yup! Just look!" She stood abruptly, sloshing water and soap everywhere, and proudly displayed her very wet – and very _naked_ – body for me to see. Her flat stomach and pert breasts did indeed look whole and unaffected by her pseudo-death. There was almost no blood left either.

"F-Fine, you look fine! S-Sit back down, you dunce! And make sure you scrub properly!"

She laughed and let herself fall backwards into the tub, splashing even more water onto the floor.

"So are we finally going after your father?" She asked.

"Well, I'm still stuck in this house. Getting out of here – for good – is the main priority. But we can't just do it without a plan. I don't want to get out of here only to end up in jail or… something worse."

"Hmmm." She crossed her arms on the edge of the tub and rested her chin on top. "So after that, what'll we do? Can we live in hotels then, since your dad won't find us? Do you still wanna stay in Atlas?"

"I need to plan those details, which is exactly why we'll bide our time and use his depression for what it's worth."

"Like what?"

"Like planning."

She groaned loudly. "I'm already booooooored."

"Then wrap it up already. I'll be waiting in my room, don't take forever." It was an excuse to get out of the stuffy bathroom, but also an escape lest I ended up in the tub with her.

After the scene in those bushes my imagination kept teasing, which was why I needed to put down some ground rules. Once the demon girl came out wearing Whitley's clothes – a snug fit, but dust did she clean up alright – I sat waiting by the table. She'd left the shirt untucked, something Whitley would never do. I liked it.

But why was that cape still hanging from her shoulders?

"This is – kinda tight." She tried adjusting the pants as she walked.

"Oh it looks fine." I rolled my eyes. "That cape could go though. Really, it's probably dirtier than the landfill."

"What!?" She grabbed it like I'd threatened to rip it away. "I like my cape!"

"Pardon me, but _why_?"

"It's mine!"

"Oh come on, really? By that logic, you'd have to hang onto every piece of litter produced by your very own hands simply because the contents were yours."

I don't think I was imagining the beginning of a snarl on her face, fangs and all. Sore topic?

I sighed. "Keep it then. Now come, we need to set up some rules."

Ruby's eyes bugged out when she saw the binder in front of me. It _was_ a big one… and full of fine print.

"Um, what kind of rules exactly?"

"Relationship rules." I glared at her, challenging her to protest.

Her eyes flickered. "Uh…."

I flipped the binder open and she leaned forward, tentatively reading the first page out loud.

"These are hereby the conditions which a potential suitor must abide by in order to court Weiss Schnee, daughter of Jacques Schnee and… um, Weiss? What's this for?"

"This –" I rapped my knuckles on the page, "—is how you write a proper contract. You know, you could learn something from this, and maybe next time you form a contract with someone it won't be such an embarrassment."

She blinked one, two, three times. "But, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you showing me this contract? It's not just because you wanted to give me an example, is it?"

"Ruby, do you have _any_ recollection of what happened at that convention center?"

"I, uh, it's kinda hazy…" Her gaze flickered form side to side.

"You _kissed_ me! Actually, you were more or less lying on top of me and you were _making out with me_."

She sputtered helplessly, and god help me that blush was too much. I had to pinch my nose.

"Alright, look. If we are going to be entertaining that sort of relationship, we need some ground rules," I explained. "Everything is detailed in this binder, all you need to do is read through it all and sign at the very end. There should be several copies of the agreement form, make sure you sign two and we'll keep one each. In the meantime, I have an appointment with my sister, so please try not to stir up any trouble while I'm gone."

I stood, ignored her completely lost puppy look and strode for the door. I had a feeling I'd have to walk her through the concept of being in a relationship once I got back, but for now that binder should keep her occupied and out of trouble.

There was more security personnel around than normal. On my way to the dining room, I passed at least two different pairs of soldiers inspecting the house, and even a mechanical guard dog. I took a wide berth around that one, and shuddered when its glowing eyes followed my movement. My hands were clammy with sweat by the time I reached the dining room. An armored guard turned his head my way, though I could not see his eyes beneath the helmet. He was carrying an unholstered gun, as if expecting someone to burst in, weapons flaring.

I took a deep breath, trying to prepare me for what was inside. Then I entered the room. Like everything in the Schnee manor, it was large, with tall floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire outer wall and expensive draperies hanging beside them, useless for anything but showing off. The dining table was far too large for a family of five, and during dinner parties father liked to casually mention its unique origin from the forests in southern Mistral.

Winter sat in one of the fancy chairs now, but there was no food on the table.

"Greetings, sister."

"Winter. What do you want?" Not in the mood for smalltalk, I wished to get back to my room as soon as possible.

Winter put her hand on a folder on the table in front of her. It was much thinner than the binder I'd left with Ruby.

"I wish to speak to you. You were one of the key witnesses to the tragedy that took place at the convention, yet no officer got any useful information out of your testimony at the emergency center."

I rolled my eyes. "Well then, perhaps if they'd given me _five minutes_ to even comprehend the situation? It's not like I remember much anyway." I defiantly stuck to my explanation, and shot a glance at the security personnel in the room. Two guards posted by the windows, and one more of those disgusting dog robots planted by the doors leading to the kitchen.

It was like walking around in a prison.

Winter noticed my gaze wandering and read my thoughts. "A necessary precaution," she said. "Until we know for sure it was a Grimm attack and not… something else."

I refused to show her any weakness. "What else would it be?"

Winter flipped the folder open. "That's the question. The convention had high security for an event with so many guests. Yet somehow, we have thirty-six registered missing people and not a single body, despite the blood. A pack of War Huskies went rabid on the convention grounds and of those we _did_ find bodies. With little more to go on, the investigation is operating with the assumption that this was the work of a Grimm. But if that's the case," she glanced up at me, "how did it get past our walls?"

I struggled to keep a straight mask. "How awful. I didn't know there were so many casualties." I really didn't. I'd spent most of that night at the emergency care center, and hadn't talked to anybody else from the event.

"Weiss." Winter leaned forward, and lowered her voice. "I _need_ you to tell me the truth. What happened back there?"

A large, panting dog consumed my memories and I shuddered down to my toes.

"I don't remember."

"Whitley is _gone_ , Weiss. Father is a mess."

I struggled not to show how much that pleased me.

"Whitley's scroll was found inside a trailer."

 _That_ took my by surprise; I couldn't stop from twitching in my seat. The scroll – he'd been filming—

Winter let out a heavy sigh. Then, she stood, and closed the distance between us. While I sat stiff as a rod, Winter knelt before me and wrapped her hands around mine.

"I'm sorry, Weiss."

I didn't know how to respond to the sudden gesture, so I just bit back. "Well, don't be. The little leech is dead."

"And once again, you were _right there_." Winter stroked the back of my hand, giving me a grave look. "Weiss, it is the exact same scene as with Klein. Just blood and signs of battle, no bodies. Why do you keep showing up at those scenes? You were even observed at a dance club, where two missing students was last seen, and I am starting to wonder if we'll ever find them. To be honest with you, the evidence is starting to pile up. Are you just at the wrong place at the wrong time, or…?"

I suddenly developed an intense interest for my nails, but Winter didn't buy it.

"Who _is_ that girl, Weiss? _What_ is she?"

There was no use playing around, besides my patience was wearing thin. "You mean the girl you ordered _killed_?"

Winter's expression was that stern one I never could face properly. "I have several eye witnesses that swears they saw 'a red blur ripping people apart' and even one security guard who faced her head on and survived. She was with you the day Klein disappeared too. _What is she doing to all these people?_ "

I wanted to remain silent, but I just couldn't. This was my choice, my life. Couldn't she see that?

"Ruby is my friend." And maybe something more.

She raised one elegant eyebrow. "Ruby?"

"Yes, she has a name." I folded my arms defiantly. "And she saved my life."

"Where is she now?"

Would she ever stop asking questions?

"I don't know." I stared defiantly at the table, refusing to meet her eyes. It was a dead giveaway, but I didn't care. "She likes to come and go as she pleases." Technically true, although apparently she couldn't venture too far away from me due to our contract.

Leather creaked when Winter stood. She gathered her hands at her back and began slowly walking around me. "How did you meet?"

"She… found me. Right after I came out of my room." Another not-strictly-lie.

She didn't immediately answer that. When she did, it was with words that surprised me.

"I'm… sorry, Weiss. You went through a very difficult time and I wasn't there to support you when you needed it."

"No…" my surprise quickly turned to bitterness. "Father would have never allowed it anyway."

"Father may be strict, but I know for a fact that he worried a lot about you when you were retrieved. Klein—"

"—was _not_ the one who refused to let me enroll into school without putting me through that _test_ first!" No matter how much I hated Klein, he hadn't put me in that situation to begin with. That was all father.

Winter stood with her back to me for a few long moments, as if she wanted to psyche me out. When she turned to look at me once more, her mild gaze surprised me.

"Do you still wish to enroll in Atlas?"

…what?

"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my glare.

"I mean exactly what I'm asking. Do you still wish to go to school?"

…it didn't _look_ like she was joking.

"Is that… still an option?" I didn't even dare to guess what she really meant.

Winter's lips quirked slightly and that alone made my heart soar. "I may be able to pull a few strings. Given the situation at home, it would undoubtedly be better for you to spend your days in another environment, one where you'll be able to focus on more… normal activities. I'm sure father will agree."

"I…" didn't believe her. "I would be honored to attend Atlas Academy." Actually, I could hardly keep from fidgeting. Was I really being handed this card, just like that? No, it had to be a trap.

"W-Why though?" I scowled at a sudden thought. "Are you using this to get to Ruby?"

She didn't even blink.

"While it is true that we will eventually need to take action against such a dangerous individual, I want you to know I am willing to believe that your involvement is purely unwilling. Perhaps she's threatened you, or otherwise forced you along. More importantly, you are my sister. I see you wasting away in your room day by day, and already lost you once when I failed to be there. I am happy that you returned to the manor, even if the circumstances were less than desirable. I would like to change the circumstances we'll meet under next time."

I wanted to protest. I wanted to make her admit that it was all a ploy. But this was _Winter_ , not father or Whitley or Klein. Winter, who'd always taken some time to train my fencing or glyphs whenever she visited home, who'd never wished me any ill will. I just… I _wanted_ to believe her, more than anything.

Just _one_ person. I wanted to trust one single person in all of Atlas. Besides, it was more or less a free card out, if it turned out to be true.

"I… I would like to enroll in Atlas."

She smiled at me. Winter. _Smiled._ "Good. I'll have a chat with General Ironwood and father then."

Wait, was this… was this real? This was really happening! Oh my god. I stood up abruptly and nearly shook with excitement and apprehension. "I appreciate that, Winter. This… this means… a lot."

"Anything for my little sister. We'll talk more later. For now… be careful."

I still couldn't believe it when I left the dining room a few minutes later. So many conflicting feelings struggled within me right now. I wasn't prepared for the prospect of joining school so suddenly, but neither did I wish to continue living here. That had been my dream all along: To leave this house behind and walk my own path.

Could this be it?

I walked back through the mansion in a daze, hardly paying attention to where I put my feet. I mindlessly stared at the marble floor and walls, and stopped once I caught sight of a portrait I knew very well. This one was one of many paintings of Nicholas Schnee. My grandfather looked tall and proud, with the Schnee symbol in the background.

I remembered sitting on his lap while he told grandiose stories of the early days of Mantle's expansion and slaying Grimm while hunting for new dust mines. What would he think if he saw us now, saw _me_?

I didn't want to throw away my family name. I _wanted_ to be a Schnee, because the name symbolizes the strength and dedication which my grandfather displayed. It was not a name I'd want to see tarnished by the likes of father and Whitley, or… anything _I_ did, for that matter.

This was my chance, and I'd be a fool to not take it.

I continued down the hallway while chewing my lip. Once I reached the corridor with my room in it, however, I realized something was wrong.

My room was breached. I knew it was unlocked, thanks to my father taking the key several years ago, but that didn't mean I'd invited every single soldier around to stomp into it. Which seemed to be the exact thing happening.

"What in the world is going on here?" I demanded from the officer guarding the door – keeping a wary eye on the mechanical dog that stood sniffing around my bed. Great, now I could never sleep there again. There was no sign of Ruby, but the binder still lay on the table and one of the chairs stood askew. As if someone had stood up in a hurry.

The officer had golden lines on his helmet, indicating a high-ranked soldier.

"A search of the premises, ma'am. We're making sure the manor is clean."

From what, I wanted to ask, but held my tongue. I knew exactly what they were looking for. More soldiers were inside the room, searching every nook; under the bed, behind the curtains, beneath tables and chairs.

"Ms. Polendina!" The officer called. "Status!"

"Nothing here but bubbles, sir! Somebody has been taking a wonderful bath, but that is all!" A cheerful gingerhead bounced out of the bathroom. I froze, recognizing Ruby's killer in an instant. Her freckled face looked far too cheerful to belong to someone able to rip a demon apart.

"Fine, we're done here. Let's move out!"

He turned on his heel, and the other soldiers poured out after him. At the very end came the gingerhead. She saw me, gasped, and rushed over to grab my hand.

"Such fine skin!" She rubbed my wrist and hand with her thumbs.

"…Thanks?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Weiss Schnee! I think we'll be good friends!" She didn't even look up at my eyes and continued caressing my hand.

"O…kay?"

"If you come to Atlas, we'll get to know each other far better than through these un _fortunate_ events. Oh, I am _so_ sorry about your brother!" She spoke with a cheer. This was getting weird. Why was she still stroking my hand?

"Penny, we're running late."

"Oh! Right, sir! I will see you later, Ms. Weiss, and do not hesitate to call for me should you ever need it!" She finally let go and bounded off after the officer, still having not made eye contact with me at all. My hand felt kind of violated.

I really had no idea what I would need her for, but I gave her a strained smile anyway. Given their demeanor I guessed they hadn't found Ruby, but I couldn't help but still feel uneasy.

When the door closed behind the last soldier, I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Woah, that was close." Ruby manifested beside me in a rush of ashes.

"I don't like this," I said. Too many things were happening at once. Obviously, Winter had planned this. She'd called me to her instead of coming to my room because she'd ordered these people to search it while I was gone. So had it all been a ruse, after all?

Even Ruby looked worried. "So what did your sister want?"

"She wanted me to tell her where you are. And…" I added before Ruby could say anything, "she offered to enroll me into Atlas."

Ruby frowned. "That's a bad thing, right?"

"No! It's what I always wanted to do! I'm so excited! And – and that's the problem. I've never _been_ this happy before, but it can't possibly be true. Ruby, I don't know what to do!"

Ruby tilted her head, staring at me. "Can't we just go?"

My stomach sank. "But, it's not that simple."

"Hm?" She, of course, was clueless.

"Ruby, when I go to school, I… I'm not sure if it's a good idea that you come with me. I don't know if you can at all, really."

Her eyes widened. "What? But we had a deal! You even made me read that entire thing about relationship contracts or whatever!" She gestured at the table and the binder which she'd actually started looking through, judging by the turned pages. She'd reached the section detailing living conditions were we ever to move in together. It felt useless now.

I clasped my hands, not sure what I wanted to say. "There… are several reasons why I want this, but… I don't know what to do right now. I don't know, but I'm not getting this chance again, and… maybe it's best if we… end this."

Ruby's expression had turned into one gigantic frown. My throat felt awkwardly dry now.

"Weiss, do you really think your dad is going to change his mind?"

"He's changed, Ruby, you saw it too. He's just a shell of his former self, I'm sure Winter can get to him now!"

I didn't like the frown on her face. She didn't look angry, just… thoughtful. Not an expression I was used to seeing.

"So you want to break the contract?"

Something told me my answer here was going to determine several things, my fate included. My mouth was dry, and my heart drummed. "I don't want to break the contract, I just…"

Her gaze drilled into me with enough intensity to make the mark on my arm itch, and I slapped my hand over it in alarm.

"Weiss, your problem is you're still stuck in your own head."

With that cryptic message, Ruby disintegrated into a cloud of vanishing ashes.

"Ruby!" I was scared and angry all at once. "That's not a healthy way to end a discussion, we need to talk this over! Don't be unreasonable!"

There was no answer.

What the heck did she even mean? I didn't like her tone, nor the sudden departure. I pulled a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

 _Alright, don't panic. She's talked about eating your soul before, but you're still her partner. It'll be okay. We'll figure this out. Even if I have to bring her to Atlas with me, Winter will understand… right?_

A faint smile grew on my lips, but it vanished as soon as it came.

It didn't feel like it would be okay, at all.

XXX

Night had fallen across the Schnee manor grounds.

His older daughter had long since left, after making one last knock on his door. Jacques Schnee had not answered any of her attempts to reach him. He hadn't answered any calls to his scroll either. They were done discussing the matter, and he had nothing more to say to her.

He sat leaned back in his office chair. It cost at least two yearly salaries for one of his miners, but the smooth leather couldn't fill the hole in his chest.

A glass filled from the bottle Ironwood had left him sat untouched on the desk. The General had visited briefly earlier that afternoon; along with Winter. The wooden scent of the whiskey helped numb his mind, but Jacques's mind was not known for staying numb for a long time.

His decision had been made.

Slowly, his gaze landed on the picture frame stood on his desk. The proud posture of his only son always had been a point of pride for Jacques. His son, his heir, a proud Schnee in flesh and blood and spirit as well. Unlike his sisters, whom always looked for ways out. One had been stolen by that fool Ironwood, and the other, well.

He traced the frame with a trembling finger, and then put the picture facedown on the desk. He closed his eyes and pulled a deep breath, allowing tears to gather at the edge of his eyes.

 _CRASSSH!_

The sudden racket outside his study door had him on his feet in an instant.

"What is going on!?"

No answer. Jacques pulled out the topmost drawer on his desk and took the gun lying there, checking that it was still loaded. Not a second too late. The door smashed open and struck the wall, remaining there as the handle lodged into the tapestry.

"Sheesh, you really should get some better robots."

The two mechanical guards that had been stationed outside lay in heaps on the floor, whizzing and sputtering from severed cords. In the door opening itself, wielding a ridiculously large weapon with the deadliest-looking blade he'd ever seen, stood a girl – a boy? No, a girl, but in _those_ clothes!

"Who are you?" He demanded, raising the gun towards the intruder. "Why are you wearing my son's clothes?"

"Because Weiss said I had to!" She sounded exasperated. "And now she's all weird because he's gone and her sister's saying things that aren't true and you're just a boring… _bore!_ " She swung her giant scythe down and lodged it into the floor. Jacques reached for the alarm under his desk, but the girl zipped forward in a flash of black and red and then he was struck so hard his head rang. His back hit the chair in a jarring crash.

"This is such a pain," the girl complained as the weapon in her hands evaporated into black smoke. "Don't go all nuts yet, okay? Look, I just wanna talk." She raised her unarmed hands. In response, Jacques clutched the gun tighter.

"Do not cross me, girl."

"Why?"

"I am a Schnee! You do not wish to make an enemy of our family, child. Now speak! Who are you?"

The cloaked girl wearing his son's clothes put a finger on her chin.

"Well," she said, "Weiss is acting real strange and I think it's because you're no longer acting all threating…ingenly? And I mean, that's nice and all but eh, we all know you'll come around eventually so I figured I might as well speed things along a bit and help Weiss feel motivated again, because I kind of like her and I don't wanna eat her yet so to do that I figured coming to you and like, poke around a little may help."

He couldn't follow half of what she said.

"Soooo I was thinking, how can I jolt you back to normal? And then I realized!" With a grin, she caught the socks in one hand, and leaned in. "I'll just tell you the truth." Their eyes met, and there was a glow in hers that promised no good things.

"You see, I'm the one who killed Whitley."

Jacques stopped breathing.

"And your wife too, though that was an accident, but eh, I'd probably have done it anyway. Aaaand I helped Weiss escape and all of that too. The convention was a lot of fun! So now that you know that, what would you say if I offered you toooooo, let's say, make a deal?"

The rage welling up inside him was almost suffocating. "White Fang."

"What?"

 _BANG!_

The girl fell, slamming to the floor with a smoking hole in the middle of her head.

Jacques' moustache vibrated behind the smoking gun. "If you think I will let you animals ruin my life, my _company_ , any more than you already have – you are wrong. I'll kill every single one of you personally if I must. Thanks to that thickheaded _General_ and his useless metalheadsthat may very well be the only option left."

He swept the glass of whiskey from the desk, tossing it all back in one go.

So be it. It was time to strike back.

"Guuuh," the groan behind him immediately had him spin around, gun raised once more. "Oh wow, that thing hurt a lot! I think something important got messed up… why's everything doubleeeeeee…"

"How in the world…"

The girl wasn't dead. In fact, her arm only trembled slightly as she used it to support herself in her struggle to sit back up. There was no blood. Only a trail of black smoke or… dust?

"Holy cow that hurts!" She put a hand to her head, covering the hole.

He fired, again and again, each shot skewering a new hole in her body. Chest, stomach – but she still moved.

"Stop it!" She lunged forward and he swung the gun out her reach, but she grabbed his wrist and his gun dropped to the floor. Then she _bit_ him. Sharp teeth sunk into his arm like needles, and a burning sensation spread from the wound.

"You beast!" He yanked his arm loose and she pulled back, licking her teeth from his blood. "I will murder you!"

"Come on, relax a little! I'm here to talk! Look, I'm sorry about your robots, okay?"

He eyed the gun, but doubted he'd be able to pick it up before this… _creature_ could attack him again.

"So, can we talk now?"

He slammed his hand against the alarm button. Blaring ringing filled the room, and several books fell from the shelves as the hidden wall-mounted guns extended from behind them. Mechanical aiming systems scanned the room and located the unauthorized aura signature within seconds.

"Oooh crap," said the caped girl.

XXX

I hadn't expected to fall asleep with my mind churning so badly, but neither had I expected to wake up from the sound of running feet, gunfire and blaring alarms.

"What in the world is going on!?" I rolled out of bed, still dressed as I had been when I laid down, and went to open my door. The sounds slammed against me like a wall. In an instant, I knew.

Ruby was on the loose. I just knew it, like an instinct telling me so. That explained why I hadn't seen her, nor heard her, and it explained how the talkative girl had somehow managed to stay silent for so long. Because _she wasn't in my room._

Feeling an insistent tug on my aura, I ran through the hallways following the sounds of the blaring alarm. It took me straight to father's study, or what remained of it. The wreckage of robotic security guards littered the hallway, some still sparking, and the door must have been kicked in because it had splintered around the lock and was stuck in the wall.

The room was a disaster. Frayed books, toppled shelves, bullet holes all over the place. As if it beckoned me, my eyes fell on the glass case where Myrtenaster rested. The case had fallen at some point and lay shattered on the floor, with no weapon to be seen. Even the dust vials stored with the weapon were gone.

I set off again, exiting the upper levels and coming upon the grand foyer, where double stairs snaked around a massive King Taijitu sculpture. Here and there evidence of battle remained; gashes in the floor or walls, splinters from a wayward bullet.

"Miss Schnee!" One of the maids stood in the foyer, shouting at me over the alarm.

"What is happening?" I asked back. "Where is father?"

"Mr. Schnee is outside, there's an intruder!" The woman tried to take my arm, but I pulled away.

"Stay in here!" With that command, I went for the doors.

I felt numb, empty and cold, and that might be what helped me remain so calm when I saw the courtyard. It was a mess, tears and slices in the ground accompanied by empty shells and the shouts of our armed security forces. A blur flashed across the ground, colliding with an one of the security guards. Weapons clashed, and the man valiantly managed to fend off the massive scythe – once, then he failed to protect himself from the following punch and went down like a heavy sack, nose crooked and gushing blood.

Five, six, seven other guards were engaging the demon, some at range and some up close. Even where they should have easily overpowered the attacker, they were struggling just to keep even ground. Four more guards already lay motionless on the ground, and a surge of anger filled me, only to drain right out as soon as it came. I was incapable of holding onto the emotion, but the adrenaline pumped through my veins all the same.

"Ruby!"

She didn't listen. Her body was smoking from several wounds and she swung her weapon like a guillotine. Ruby may look young and act like a fool sometimes, but in battle she truly shone. There was this grace that lacked in her usual antics, the fluid motions and control she wielded over that massive weapon. Spins and slashes, jumps and gunshots, she combined it all in a deadly performance. The guards used aura shielding to avoid most damage, but Ruby's glowing eyes held more secrets than just a peculiar personality.

Did she really think I'd approve of this madness?

Determined strides took me down the wide staircase, until my boot butted into one of the fallen guards. For a second I was confused at why he was still around, and not a cloud of black dust – and then he groaned weakly.

That he was still alive shocked me. He was bleeding from a gash in his leg, but that wasn't enough to kill him, not if he got treatment. Looking around, I realized the same held true for the other fallen men and women. Molested limbs aside, they were still… twitching, at least.

Ruby was fighting, but she wasn't killing?

That explained the pull I felt on my own aura and my inability to hold onto any emotion. Instead of killing the guards and feeding on their souls, our bond was trying its best to keep her healed and in battle.

Someone grabbed my sleeve and I looked up into the face of my father.

"Stay back, Weiss! There is bound to be more of them!"

"What? Who?"

"The White Fang." He pulled me behind himself as if he meant to protect me. He was armed with a gun in one hand and Myrtenaster in the other.

The White Fang? Realizing his mistake, and with half a mind to correct him, I obeyed and stayed behind him. Father raised his gun, but I grabbed his arm.

"Don't hurt her!"

"Don't be foolish, girl! This is the murderer who killed your brother and mother!" He was seething with rage, and yanked his arm free of my grasp.

"You mean the boy who tried to get me _raped_ by a dog and the woman who told me to accept that kind of life?" I seethed back, and flinched when he backhanded me.

The slap stung.

"This is your _family_ , Weiss!"

I cradled my cheek and wished my glare could freeze him to death. "So _now_ you care. You never cared before, but now that _Whitley_ is gone—"

"Of course I care. You are my _child_ , and this is my _home_!"

He raised Myrtenaster, whose blade turned red as the barrel activated the fire dust vial. I'd expected a subtle flame – instead, the blade exploded with fire, and launched a firestorm across the grounds. The heatwave was so great it forced me to retreat, and just watch as the flames engulfed the courtyard, sending men and women scattering. I didn't see where Ruby went, but by the time the onslaught of fire ended, the courtyard was completely free of ice and snow and the cobblestones glowered in its wake. One of the guards were rolling desperately on the ground, shrieking and wailing as he tried to put out the flames on his back.

Father flicked the weapon furiously. The red vial was completely empty. "This useless thing!"

"Did you just empty the entire thing in one shot!?"

"Don't be ridiculous, it malfunctioned."

"Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to put old dust into a weapon that hasn't been maintained for ages!"

A scream pulled our attention back to the fight. A guard sprawled on the smoking ground with blood spurting from a severed arm. The rest of them called out orders and pulled back, trying to circle around Ruby to stay between her and us. The hesitation in their movements was becoming apparent. Ruby spun her scythe, flicking blood through the air, and smiled.

"I pay these incompetent cowards far too much," father grumbled, spun the barrel on Myrtenaster and stepped forward. "Know this, Weiss. After this mess is over, I am planning to make you my heiress."

I blinked out of my stupor. "What? You're making _me_ heiress?"

"Indeed. It is the greatest honor you could have, given your position."

As befuddled as that made me, he was right. It would change everything. And yet it wouldn't really change _anything_. I'd still be trapped in his cage, expected to perform by his will, and I'd never be able to escape.

I clenched my hands.

"That's just what _you_ want. _I_ still want to go to Atlas."

He raised Myrtenaster towards the dwindling battle before us. "And I will have my way."

I leapt at him. It was stupid, impulsive and desperate. But I'd already lost Ruby once; I knew she wasn't invincible, and she was already so battered. My aura alone could only keep her protected for so long. Another full on blast from Myrtenaster might be the end of her, as well as the guards. People who'd become wrapped up in this because my father paid them to.

I refused to let that happen. So I did something stupid. As if I thought I was twice as big, I leapt at him, collided squarely with him, and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"What!" He snarled as my weight and momentum pulled him over. We fell in a heap, and the impact knocked the gun from his hand, but Myrtenaster still remained. I tried to grab his wrist and wrench the rapier from him, but he kicked me in the gut and sent me sprawling backwards. Then he was above me, trying to punch me – I blocked with a glyph, then grabbed his arm again, trying to wrench the weapon free once more. He yanked back, and then suddenly Myrtenaster went off.

The ground shattered beneath us. I don't know how much wind dust was in that vial, but the impact was enough to make me believe it's close to what being hit by a bullhead must be like. A burning pain slashed across my eye while I flew helplessly through the air. The manor grounds spun around me, and knowing a second impact would come soon enough, I braced myself.

I slammed into something which emitted a loud "Oof!"

My head rang, my body hurt, and warm blood seeped down my face. I rolled off of Ruby and punched her in the shoulder.

"You _dunce_!" I punched her again.

"Owww!?"

"You don't need to – be some kind of hero! I have aura, you know!" Although to be fair, most of my remaining aura might have drained with that massive blast of air back there. I got to my feet, unsteady, and quickly took assessment of my various aches. Nothing broken, as far as I could tell. The blood seeping into my eye was annoying, but I could still see through it, although it throbbed fiercely.

There was a crater in the ground back at our previous position. The wind dust had torn it apart and simultaneously flinged us away like used rags. Father lay not far from us, and what a pitying sight me made. He must have landed badly, because his right leg had become twisted at the knee and white bone jutted out from within the bloody remains of his pants. His face was ashen and full of scrapes, but he still tried to drag himself over to Myrtenaster.

He was agonizingly slow. I strode past him and picked up the weapon before he could reach it. None of the guards remained to stop me now; whichever ones Ruby hadn't dealt with had been blown over or escaped in the chaos. Father was at my mercy, and judging by the look in his eyes, he knew.

"Weiss, are you – okay?" Ruby asked. She was getting to her feet, just a little unsteady. Her back oozed with black ashes. Numerous injuries littered her body, yet she'd still tried to save me like a total dolt.

"I'm fine. Why didn't you kill them?" I gestured to the fallen and incapitated security guards.

She grimaced as she looked up at me. "Cause you… hadn't told me to."

"Are you for rea!? _That's_ how you ended up in that sorry state?"

"I just… wanted to fix stuff. He's never going to let you go, Weiss…" she looked like a beaten puppy. I removed my gaze from her and glared down at father, unwilling to admit she was right. He'd made that pretty clear already.

How could I have believed that anything would change for the better just because Whitley was no longer around? It was like having a rotten arm; amputating just one finger wasn't going to heal it.

Father hardly looked conscious at all, just stared blankly at Ruby while tears ran from his eyes. The pitiful sight made me angrier than anything else he'd done to me.

"How dare you cry after everything you've done?" _How dare you look human?_

I don't know where it came from. In that moment, I was no longer Weiss Schnee, but a cold and indifferent victim finally in control of her own fate. I spun the barrel on Myrtenaster and deployed the yellow dust.

Father never cried out. He could not, with his body spasming a thousand times a minute. Electricity tore his skin open in hissing trenches that didn't even bleed, leaving only black patches. His eyes stared at the sky, his tongue dangled uselessly in his mouth and his arms and legs jerked like a half-conscious whale trying to reach water. Myrtenaster emptied the entire lightning dust vial within a few seconds. The electric currents singed the ground and tingled my feet; the entire weapon vibrated in my hand. By the time the charges wore off, the distinct smell of burnt flesh and ozone lingered in the air. It was hard to breathe through the stench.

I watched the entangled limbs and scorched face that had once belonged to my biggest fear, just taking it in, acknowledging what I'd done. I swallowed bile over and over, until father's body began disintegrating. Eventually it vanished into the air as fine dust.

It was over.

I wished I could have done it ten times over.

"You're bleeding." Ruby came closer, raising her hand to touch my temple.

"We need to leave. They will be back with reinforcements soon enough." I let her touch me. Closed my eyes and enjoyed the tingle down my spine that her fingers created. Actually, I wanted her to wrap me up in her arms and let me melt into her embrace, which was probably the adrenaline speaking.

"Where to?"

"I don't care. Just anywhere but here."

Ruby leaned in and her breath spilled over my lips. God, I could drown in those eyes.

"Weiss… you're pretty when you smile."

"Oh, shut up."

XXX

General James Ironwood slowly swirled his glass around, watching the ripples spread through the whiskey. In front of him, Winter Schnee leaned on his desk and heaved for air, fingers curled into tight fists. Several strands of hair had come undone from her bun, and although he couldn't see it right now, he knew her face was streaked with tears.

"I'm sorry…" she whimpered. "I'm so sorry…"

The young woman muttered now, but earlier she'd been straight as a rod, coldly indifferent and refusing to admit to her mistakes. James smirked and sipped his glass, bending and stretching the fingers on his metallic hand one by one. That kind of behavior never lasted long with him.

"Tell me again, Winter. What did you do?"

"I… pulled our forces out… of the mansion… sir."

He clicked his tongue. The sound made the young woman before him twitch.

"You're a disobedient soldier, Schnee. You failed to carry out your mission. Which was?"

Her shoulders trembled, red hissing lines beautifying her naked back.

"To survey… locate… and retrieve… sir."

"Not only did you not deploy the security forces immediately, as instructed, but you conducted a single sweep of the premises, interviewed our main suspect without taking action, and failed to bring in the greater threat. And now Jacques Schnee is dead."

"I can't bring that monster in, she's not—ghhh!" Winter's protest died the moment James's metallic fingers pinched the skin on her back. Her heaving breaths became harsher and harsher as the pain built. He had no sensation in that hand, so watching someone else react to its touch always bemused him. After a few agonizing seconds he released her, leaving a hissing red mark on her back to join numerous others like it.

He watched a drop of sweat trail down her backside and twirled his glass again.

"Your sister's mind is being poisoned by that… _thing_ ," he said, moving his finger up to catch the drop of sweat. It twinkled in the dim light of his office. "Yet you did the complete opposite of what you were ordered to. I want to hear it, Winter. What did you do?"

"I… planted an idea." The answer came in a small voice. Oh, she was close, he could tell from the slight strain in her throat. The way her legs brushed by each other, how her torso heaved. The stubborn Schnee blood ran thick in her veins, but he knew her well enough to push the buttons needed for her to break.

He licked the drop of sweat off his finger and completed the salty taste with another sip of whiskey.

"I told her… I'd get her enrolled into Atlas. I hoped… that the idea would clash with father's plans… and…"

James smiled. "You hoped she'd have him killed."

Her jaw muscles bulged.

"He was going to name _her_ heiress! After all this time, I was finally in a position to reclaim that title, and he walked all over me! Weiss doesn't even want to do it!"

James watched her shoulders move as she breathed heavily. Muscles tensed and moved under her skin, slim and fit after years of training. Not much of an office body, though she claimed that was what she really wanted.

"You are far too unruly for him, Winter. From the moment you were born, he already knew he needed a son. Did you know? He told me the first thing you did when he picked you up was to kick him in the face."

Her back tensed again. Yes, not many men were fit to handle this handful of womanly pride.

"And then Weiss was born. Of course, he saw the usefulness of daughters, but he had decided. You can say what you want about Jacques, but he was a man of his word, that sly fox. Even if it took him a hundred tries, he wouldn't have stopped before he got that son."

"It doesn't matter," came the bitter reply. "Even with Whitley gone, he still wouldn't name me heiress. He'd rather have Weiss, the easier one, the caged one, the helpless one." Winter all but growled under her breath.

"Not so helpless anymore, hm?"

"Thanks to that _thing_ she calls… _friend._ " She spat the word out.

James traced the firmness of her back with his metal finger. Even without the sensation of touch, he could enjoy her responses to the cold metal. Winter gasped and squirmed.

"So you used her."

Her voice was strained now. "I merely planted an idea, sir. It was her choice to act on it."

"You bet on Jacques's ability to betray her once more."

"It… worked faster than expected."

It certainly did. "You're a bad girl, Winter. The SDC has no choice now. Jacques is gone, Weiss is on the run – again – and they have nobody else to turn to. They cannot refuse your claim to the heritage, nor do they have any reason to. Your position in the company is ensured."

He pinched her again, just lightly this time. She gasped and bucked beneath him.

"How does it feel, Winter?"

She sucked in a breath. "I—"

"You got your way through deceit and manipulation. You're every inch as bad as Jacques was, you're his finest product and he was too blind to see it. Pretending to be a woman of justice, when your desire lies with ordering others around. Yet here you are, enjoying your punishment. You know you've earned it, don't you?"

She bent her head down, and he slapped her rear. With a shriek she fell onto the desk, and James put the glass down beside her.

"Rest easy, Winter. You _are_ all that, but you are _not_ a liar. We both saw the recordings and heard the witness reports. We both know what that girl your sister has _befriended_ truly is. And we both know that a warrior of that caliber belongs nowhere but in Atlas's military ranks."

He stood over her, unbuckling his belt.

"You used them for your own desires and ignored my orders, which is why you need to be punished. However, in the end, this changes nothing. While you enjoy your days as the CEO of Remnant's most powerful business corporation, I too shall enjoy a different kind of power."

 _Snap!_ The leather belt came free of his pants with a single pull. The restriction on his groin only felt tighter with anticipation.

"We are going to find your sister, Winter. I, for one, know that Polendina is just dying for some new subjects."

She trembled beneath him. "I'm so… sorry… Weiss…"

"Now be quiet."

* * *

 **A/N:**

To everyone who reads, reviews, favorites and so on: Thank you. It makes it all worth it, knowing this thing I like to call a story is appreciated (a lot of work goes into this! I rewrote this chapter 3 times and am sort of happy now, which is why I'm putting it up before I can start nitpicking again. If anything's off please do tell). Tell me what you like or don't like!

This is as far as I've written till now, so I'll need a bit of time to get more chapters finished up. Things are taking shape – we have a semblance of a plot going on now! And Weiss finally got the wound that will become her scar. Perhaps this will serve as a motivation for her to train more and get better with her semblance as well as Myrtenaster?

And hey, more twisted characters! This ship probably has a name.

Next time: Ruby and Weiss's first date.


	7. Act 3: Chapter 7

**Act 3: Chapter 7**

In the midst of the flames and panicking people, I faced down the stoic figure of Ciel Soleil.

"This is not how I imagined my entrance exams to play out," I stated dryly, though not a sliver of humor appeared on the other girl's face. Fine. The joke wasn't really that funny anyway. More than humorous, I found the whole situation frustrating.

The day had started pretty much like every day since we left the Schnee manor what I hoped was the last time. After I killed my own father.

As usual, I'd woken in someone else's bed. That was gross enough, and the fact that we'd killed the owner only made it worse.

It didn't matter, though. So what if the place looked like a pen for homeless cats, and smelled like one too? My living quarters for close to a year had been no different. I, a Schnee, lived no better than a miner with no future on an SDC payroll. I wonder if he was as frustrated as I was to have my life dictated by the circumstances of our birth.

In the end, the owner of this bed died as miserable as he lived. From the way the guy had acted, it wasn't the first time he'd taken out his frustration on some unsuspecting girls. In my disguise – Ruby had nearly died of laughter when I donned that stupid wig – he never recognized me until it was too late.

He brought us here by his own volition, and didn't even question Ruby's fangs, like they were some sort of faunus trait. When she bit him he misinterpreted the intent and became excited. Tried to grab her in places I wouldn't even try to touch her myself. He wasn't quite as eager when she broke his thumb. That's when he tried getting _my_ help.

His expression when I pulled off the wig had been quite amusing.

I'd had my doubts about Ruby's "plan", but it turned out to be a decent one. In the end, it got us a bed to sleep in and a roof above our heads. The owner had suffered well into the night until Ruby finally decided he'd "reached his full potential" and now, not even ashes remained of his body.

I wonder how many girls had woken up in the exact same place I lay right now. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh, just allowing my body to rest peacefully for a moment. Grey sunlight peered into the room from behind ugly curtains, filtered through the thick fog that always seemed to cover Mantle.

The only sounds in the apartment was the tinkering of tools from the living room, hardly even background noise. The bedroom door had been left slightly ajar and a stream of sunlight slipped in through the blinds.

Imagine waking up to such tranquility every day…

As if.

The wound across my eye throbbed dully. It still hadn't completely healed, and I suspected it was because my aura was busy keeping a demon anchored rather than doing its actual job. It was fine. The numb pain served to remind me of the massacre at the Schnee manor and that this was all my own choice. The tyrant of my life was finally gone, but the triumph I'd felt back then had been short-lived. Rather than feel as relieved as I thought I would, I had entered a state of complete apathy.

 _What now?_

Father had been the big bad boss. Everything else I did, I did in preparation to take out him. I'd pretended it was for the betterment of Atlas, but really? Now that father was gone, what was the actual purpose? Did I ever really believe we'd be able to come this far? Did I really think I could just have father killed, and then walk into Atlas and live happily ever after with Winter?

Perhaps I could have, if it had looked like I had nothing to do with it. But, like a fool, I had not properly planned for this outcome.

Feeling less than invigorated, I forced myself to get out of bed, knowing that staying in would only enhance the ache in my mind. The stupid wig still lay on the night table. I took it, pulled on my jacket, considered using the bathroom and immediately pushed the idea away. If the bedroom was disgusting, it held nothing on that gas chamber of a bathroom.

Other than the bedroom and disgusting bathroom, the apartment consisted only of a living room with an adjoined kitchen. A dust furnace in each room kept us from freezing to death during the night, and the strange whining noise from the one in the living room meant it would either explode in our faces or it was barely functioning.

I shuffled past it and the sunken couch, and looked with tired eyes at the mess in the kitchen. A rickety table had transformed from a personal garbage bin into what looked like an intricate operating table. Tools of various sizes lay about, most of which I had never even seen before. Humming to herself, Ruby stood over the table with a screwdriver in hand.

She must have raided the closets, because she was wearing a shirt and pants I hadn't seen before. She'd rolled up the sleeves three or four times and the jeans hung on her frame like a bag, only held up by a belt which she'd made extra holes in. Of course, the tattered cape was in place as well. She looked like some sort of unlicensed back alley doctor.

Myrtenaster was her patient.

"Weiss!" Ruby looked up at me with a beam, and any and all irritation I felt at her inappropriate cheerfulness immediately zapped out of me. Damn demon.

At my scowl, Ruby cocked her head with worry. "Did you have trouble sleeping again?"

"Do you need to ask? I'm sure you're delighted whenever I have nightmares." I muttered sullenly and immediately wanted to go back to bed. No, I didn't really. I didn't want _anything_. Just let me sit in a corner and rot, please.

Ruby hummed and put the screwdriver down.

"I don't like seeing you so tired though." She picked up Myrtenaster and gave the barrel a spin. It spun much more smoothly now. Perhaps it would no longer tear through dust cartridges like a hungry Grimm either.

"Maybe if you didn't drain my aura continuously I'd have more energy left for myself," I said. Bitter. I knew she didn't exactly do it on purpose; it was just the effect of our contract.

The world's worst contract and the root of all my problems. It was so simple and so complicated at the same time. I'd promised to keep her sustained and she'd promised to help me in return. But the simplicity was the problem; there was no clear goals in that agreement, no definite ending. Ruby's cravings were not going to vanish, and if I were to be honest it seemed like they were only increasing. My aura alone couldn't satisfy her needs and it was becoming a strain to support her, as proven by how slowly the wound from Myrtenaster was healing.

And what about my end of the deal? Gain control of my life? Oh please.

Ruby's shoulders slumped a bit.

"…I fixed Myrtenaster."

"Great." I held my hand out.

She gave me the weapon, and I swung the rapier in a wide arc, shifting it from hand to hand, trying to find the feel. The barrel spun easier now, and the blade was perfectly balanced, as always. I could almost feel it vibrate in my grip, as if it was still infused with lightning dust.

My eye throbbed again and my grip on the handle tightened.

"With those new dust cartridges we grabbed yesterday it should be good as new!" Ruby chirped beside me.

I let my arm fall to my side, pointing Myrtenaster at the floor.

Silence filled the air, until Ruby shuffled a bit.

"Sooooo… do you want breakfast?"

I thought I'd puke if I tried to swallow anything. I just wanted to go back to bed, but the thought of staying cooped up in this pitiful place made me angry too.

"No. Let's just go." I knew I was bitter, and I knew she could tell.

"Right, but, uh, food is important, you need energy!" She raised a finger as if this was a lecture she'd practiced. I didn't look at her, and just headed for the door.

If I were a doctor, I'd probably diagnose myself with depression. I saw no purpose to anything any longer. No matter what I did, I was trapped in this crippling situation in-between forces I had no hope of conquering. In many ways, I'd escaped my small prison by digging myself into a bigger one. I couldn't go to Winter; even if she were to believe my innocence, even after what I did to father, no one else would.

In the end, who was it that controlled my life right now?

Which was why I didn't trust myself to speak to Ruby, or rather, I had nothing to say to her. We should be planning our next move, should be thinking about how to stay under the radar, should be… what? Other than keeping Ruby fed and happy, what was the point?

What did _I_ want?

Mantle is a mining town in every aspect of the word; dirty, grimy and filled with endless amounts of animalistic _people._ Beyond the thick fog silent, cold houses grew out of the mountains, and numerous cliffs helped block out the sun.

The wig itched, but the dark curls made it possible for me to tuck my hair beneath it. At the very least, it worked acceptably.

"Alright!" Ruby chirped as we trudged along in the crevices that Mantle called streets. "Where do you wanna train today? That old container yard we found is kinda neat since it has all kinds of targets, but we can probably use a back alley or empty building as well for just the basics, if you feel like taking it easy today."

I glanced at the sheathed rapier at my side and felt a headache coming. As if my legs had stopped obeying, I simply stood there, and Ruby tilted her head.

"We need to talk." My voice felt hoarse, and I wasn't sure why I bothered with this at all. But I knew I couldn't go on like this.

"About what?"

"The contract."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Weiss! I told you, it's not something we can just break - I mean, we could, but it'd be really, really bad for both of us and I kinda like you…"

I glared at her knees as if I could slice them off if I wished hard enough. There were rules to this sort of thing, I suppose. I imagined some sort of demon secretary taking count of all submitted contracts and frowning behind her sharp glasses at the mess that was ours.

"Can it be reformed?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby looked as clueless as ever, infuriating me again. I tried desperately to grasp and hold the emotion before it slipped away.

"You offered to help me take control of my life, but all I've done is wrap myself up in a web that gets harder to break out of every day. And what about what I'm supposed to do for you? Keep you fed indefinitely? There's no way I can do that! So, can we do it over? Change it?"

I looked up at her now. Ruby's gaze slowly wandered over the ground, as if she tried to look away without me noticing. I stepped forward in response, glowering at her.

"Answer me!"

"Uuuuuh… I just…" she mumbled lower and lower, until I couldn't tell what she was saying.

"What?"

"ItwasmorecomplicatedthanIthought."

" _What._ "

"I thought we just had to kill your dad, okay! He was the one controlling you, so obviously—"

"You. Are the dumbest. Stupidest. Idiot. I've ever met."

Ruby cringed and shrunk back.

"Are you seriously telling me what I think you are? You made me enter a contract _which you don't even know how to end yourself?_ And we can't even change it!?"

"Uh, you're making it sound so serious," she said in a small voice, and eeped when I scowled.

"I'm two seconds away from skewering you on Myrtenaster right here and now! You better start giving me some _good_ reasons for why I shouldn't just hang you on the wall and let you starve to death!" It might be impossible, I might die trying, but damn that was a risk I was willing to take.

Her eyes glossed over. "Uuuuh… y-you wanted to make Atlas a better place?"

I folded my arms and glared at her, waiting.

"S-So, what we've done so far is, you've been selecting targets that are helping that along, right? Aaand we sorta, kinda, can continue doing that by hunting even more people who're harming others! …right?"

My lips parted in a snarl. "Ruby, your part of the contract stated that I were to supply you with fitting meals."

"Well I mean, any meal is good with me, but—"

"Though there's a lot of unpleasant people in Atlas, we _can't_ just kill off any and all people we meet," I intervened through my teeth. "How we'd select your targets was _my_ condition for even agreeing in the first place." Liar. You wanted to do this just as much as her. It sounded _fun_ , didn't it? It was fun being rebellious. Just, this was no longer about rebelling against father.

I smothered all those thoughts and focused on being angry at Ruby. "I didn't think we'd have to keep doing this _forever_!"

"But Weiss, it's easy!" She threw her hands up, and I raised an eyebrow. "When all the bad people are gone, it'll be over! See?"

I paused to stare at her. She smiled back.

...

"You want to… kill them _all_?"

Ruby grinned and skipped forward, slipping an arm around my shoulders. "It'll work, Weiss! Everyone who's hurt you in the past, everyone who'll hurt you now, everyone who wants to harm you in any way at any time! I'll eat them up!"

I pulled out of her grip and frowned. It was a strangely petrifying and liberating idea. On a strange, deep sense of logic, she wasn't _wrong._ If we did continue down this path, eventually I would run out of enemies. Once out of enemies, I'd… be able to live like I wanted. I suppose.

I scowled. "We need a way better plan than _let's kill them all_ , you know that right?"

"Ehehee…"

"And one more thing. Are you saying you can take on anyone who'll ever hunt us, and come out victorious each and every time? Do you realize we've only ever faced people who never knew what to expect, or didn't have the means to stand up to us? Do I need to remind you what happened when we ran into someone who _could_ fight back?"

She rubbed her neck. "I mean, it might be a little hard right now."

"Then what good is this conversation?"

I ended the conversation there and strode onwards. Ruby followed behind me like a sullen dog (shudder). While I didn't really have a plan for where to go, my stomach ended up deciding for me. Though the inside of the small cafe was hardly warmer than the outside, it felt better to sit in here than that stinky apartment.

Precious few other guests littered the place, and the waitress was nice enough, despite the bushy fox tail giving me the creeps. I ordered a sandwich despite not feeling hungry, and Ruby recovered from her sulk the moment she saw the menu, and cheerfully asked for a triple size chocolate milkshake with extra chocolate sauce and ice cream.

No real food, as usual.

Our orders came, and while I poked at my food Ruby downed her milkshake and then ordered a second one before the waitress had even returned to the counter.

"So…" Ruby said once her second order was in place. She had a giant chocolate milk moustache. For god's sake. "After this you should try out Myrtenaster, now that I've fixed it up!"

"I suppose," I said with no enthusiasm. I had been training with the rapier every day for the past few days. Each time pushing myself farther, challenging my form and stamina. I was starting to feel the results too, but right now? I'd rather do nothing at all. Maybe sink myself into a hot tub and stay there, but not much else.

The waitress returned. "Here you go, Miss." Another giant milkshake slid in place in front of Ruby, whose expression lit up in glee once more. I was surprised she hadn't tried to order the _waitress_ yet. The way she sneakily eyed the woman was a dead give-away to where her real desire for breakfast laid.

The waitress, whose bushy tail annoyed me as much as ever, looked at me as though worried.

"Um, I don't mean to pry, but… are you human?"

"I am." I didn't care to try and sound friendly. Nothing about my disguise attempted to hide my humanity, just my Schnee hair.

"Well, I don't want to sound rude, but you might want to be careful around the city today. I heard the Miner's Guild is planning a protest today and some of their members are less… friendly towards humans."

"Miner's Guild?" Ruby cocked her head.

"An organization for the employees under SDC contracts," I explained. "It holds no power, of course, but acts as their voice against the company."

"So, they're like White Fang?" she asked. I was surprised she remembered. Apparently, Ruby _was_ capable of listening when I told her things.

"Oh no," the waitress shook her head, "they're quite different from the White Fang. The Miner's Guild only wants to ensure the miner's well-being."

I scoffed. "They're as hardheaded and difficult as the men and women they wish to oppose. No wonder the SDC has had to restrict their rights more and more, they just don't know when to stop demanding."

The waitress's eyebrows just slightly began narrowing, and she opened her mouth. Expecting an argument, I sat straighter and glared right back.

"Oh my god Weiss! I got it!" Ruby was the one who burst into noise first though, slamming her hands into the table as she stood with so much excitement on her expression I wondered if she'd gone insane.

"W-What?"

"I got it! The faunus – the White Fang, the Miner's Guild! It's all them!"

"What are you _talking about_? Will you please sit down and – and relax!"

"But, they're the problem, Weiss!"

She's going to blow our entire cover, isn't she?

"Your dad always acted so mean because he was super stressed about the White Fang, and the Miner's Guild too, right? So if you think about it, that means the real problem is the faunus!"

My heart pounded in my throat. I couldn't seem to speak up, much less stop her, while the waitress looked on in shock.

"I mean, those snobby elites aren't exactly great either, but it's like two opposite extremes! So if we do something about both sides, we'll be left with the okay people in the middle!"

"Ruby, you are making a scene."

She closed her mouth and lowered her head, giving me the world's biggest pout.

"Not here," I clarified, and stood from my seat. I pulled out a wad of cash from my purse, slapping it on the table. Courtesy of my dead father and his desk drawers.

I turned to look at the startled waitress, who stared at the money like they would bite.

"Is there a bathhouse nearby?" I asked.

Minutes later, we were on our way down the streets once more.

"Weiss, I—" Ruby started, but stopped abruptly when I pulled off my wig. While I shook my hair out and gathered it up in a ponytail, Ruby's eyes grew wide.

"You're right, Ruby," I told her, glancing around the gray street. Only a single person near enough to see us, and he was nose deep into his scroll. "The White Fang _is_ a problem, as is the Miner's Guild. Still, we need to act smart and strategic in order for this to work."

Ruby jumped up beside me and grinned. "Heeeeh, Weiss, you look better now. There's a glint in your eye~"

I'm sure whatever glint she saw in mine could hardly compete with hers.

"Well, you did get me breakfast. I suppose we don't need to sit around and wait for something to happen. This is _our_ contract, and we'll both have to abide by it."

"Yeah!" She pumped her fist. "So where do we start?"

"With a bath."

"What—"

"Ap-ap-ap! Before _anything_ else, I _really_ need a bath. And if I wager, so do you."

"I bathed just the other day!"

"And those rags?" I scoffed at her attire, showing my disgust. "Dreadful. We'll have to do something about that."

Ruby frowned at her clothes as if just now seeing them. "So… you want to bathe, and then get new clothes?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"Oh wow, it's like a real date!"

"No!"

XXX

The bathhouse itself was unremarkable, but the faunus behind the counter did not stop staring at me the entire time while we paid and collected our complimentary towels. Ruby skipped along and cheerfully hummed while we undressed. The demonic girl let out a sigh of content as we slid into the heated water.

"This is amazing! What a great idea, Weiss!"

"Hmm." I stared at the water and slowly rubbed my arms. The steam did wonders for my sore and battered body, even dulled the constant throbbing across my eye.

I failed to notice Ruby's gaze on me until it was too late.

"I know!" With a _slooosh!_ Ruby stood, and I blanched in surprise.

"Don't you have _any_ decency?"

"I'll give you a massage, Weiss!"

"What? No! Sit down! Be quiet! Stop talking, and thinking, and just be still!"

"Pfff," she waved me off and sloshed over to me, "don't be shy, Weiss. It'll be great, I promise! You've been so stressed lately, so just relax!"

I sat stiff as a rod while she grabbed my shoulders, turned me around and proceeded to press her thumbs into my back.

"Mmgghh!?" I jerked, but Ruby didn't stop. She was surprisingly gentle, and determined in her movements. Slowly, I relaxed under her care, and even begun enjoying it a little. Her hands were so warm, her chest so close, silvery gaze wandering over my skin and sending goosebumps wherever it traveled...

The peacefulness ended when more guests arrived, dirty and smelly and probably straight from a shift in the mine, judging by the grime. Their various animalistic traits stood out like a second head.

I wanted to curse loudly when Ruby pulled away from me.

"Oh wow, that's a cool tail!" Her unfiltered amazement earned us some angry glares. She didn't seem to notice, or maybe it was her plan all along. I refuse to believe that someone who feeds off negativity would fail to realize when someone is shooting death glares at her.

Time to go, I think.

"I wanted to eat them though." Ruby whined as we dried off in the changing rooms, while I rolled my eyes.

"Didn't we _just_ talk about picking targets? Even if they _are_ animals, they're not all evil." Were we to see a dog faunus though... I knocked the thought aside with a shudder.

We left more refreshed than when we entered, and proceeded to search Mantle in the hopes of finding a clothing store. Ruby kept distracting herself by staring into every available window we passed, acting like a delighted child whenever she forgot to sulk over her missed meal.

None of us commented on the glares and whispers that followed us as we passed the faunus inhabitants. Of course, after father's demise rumors flew across the city like mice, but the second they saw me and my white hair, any and all chatter immediately cut off. Well, it's nice to feel significant, isn't it?

In our first store, Ruby sullenly tried on everything I picked out. Nothing seemed to fit the demon the way I wanted. Too many frills, too much black, too much white, far too big, oh god a tail hole… after the clerk failed to bring up any other alternatives, we left and went onto the next store.

"I can't believe the quality of these clothes. Do they have _nothing_ that can compare to Atlas?" I asked loudly as we left the store, feeling the sting of the clerk's glare at my back.

"Weisssssss," Ruby groaned behind me. "Why does it matter so much what I wear? It'll just get destroyed again anyway."

"Ruby, I expect you to do better. You need to take care of your clothes."

She grumbled beneath her breath. "What do you want me to do, fight naked?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Just start acting with a bit of tactical judgment."

"It's not my fault! I don't want to waste energy on protecting clothing and stuff like that."

"Are you even using that energy to defend _yourself_?"

Grumble. "It's not that easy."

"That makes no sense," I countered. "People with a small aura and no training in how to activate it may not be able to use it for much, but yours is…" I struggled to find the right word. Demonic? "Well. At least make an effort. And you do need new clothes, so try to find something fitting."

More grumbling, but she did join without outright complaining.

I have to admit, doing something so mundane as shopping for clothes did feel nice after so long a time with nothing but irregularity in my life. It still wasn't _normal_ , but now I could at least forget that for a small while. Not that this shopping spree was entirely for pleasure.

Ruby's words had hit something within me, however small of a purpose they instilled.

I opposed my father, and I'd prevailed, no matter the cost. Now I'd just have to keep on going and eventually, things will change. Only action brings change. It can be your own actions, or someone else's, but you only control your own.

So that's fine then. If these are the cards the world has handed me, I will play the game with them. I would choose which to play when, take control of the game, take action by my own choice, and change my own situation. Even if it took years!

But first, I needed to find my new targets. And what easier way to do so than to pull them in?

That's why, I made sure to talk loud, flip my hair, and stride with purpose. I wanted to be seen. Most of all, I wanted to be seen by the right crowd. Which was hard with all this damn fog.

"Look at the windows," I told Ruby, without bothering to keep my voice down.

"Hm?"

"White Fang sympathizers puts up a small sign in their windows. Usually something white in the shape of a triangle."

"How do you know that?" Ruby asked while keeping a close eye on the stores we passed.

"Knowing makes it far easier to avoid the obvious death traps," I explained. "The White Fang has targeted my family for years and knowing your enemy is essential in a game of life and death."

"Hmmm…" Ruby looked thoughtful.

To be fair, I had half expected to be assaulted already, but expecting the White Fang to just appear out of nowhere and strike at us would be optimistic. I didn't know how much information had leaked about the incident at the manor. Perhaps seeing a Schnee wandering around would be taken as a trap, or maybe they even knew about Ruby and what she could do.

"There's one!" Ruby suddenly said, and pointed. Another clothes store, how lucky.

"Let's go." I pulled her along and pushed the door open. It was a small shop, filled with accessories as well as clothes.

"Well, maybe we can find something that fits you here."

Ruby groaned as if I'd tricked her along. "Weisssssss…"

I ignored her and began browsing the clothes hangers. There was no obvious sign of this place having anything to do with the White Fang, other than the tiny symbol in the window. It didn't take long before someone cleared their throat behind me. It was the cashier, probably the owner as well judging by the authority she emitted, and she looked equal parts angry and worried. A set of impressively large bunny ears adorned her head.

"Ah, finally," I said, "we need some help finding the right size and color. I'm thinking black and red, but do you have anything fitting for a… well, _human?_ "

Her large rabbit ears twitched in what I assumed to be a displeased manner. She looked from me to Ruby's ragged dress-up, and scowled when the redhead flashed a smile that showed off her fangs.

"I'm sorry, but you are not welcome here," the woman stated.

I pretended to be surprised. "Whyever not?"

"You're…" she hesitated, glancing back and forth between me and Ruby, as if trying to decide why in the world we were together. "You're a Schnee."

I smiled. "Indeed I am!"

She did look a little stumped at that, but then she sneered. "We don't serve Schnees here!"

The atmosphere dropped to an awkward silence.

"In that case," I said, "can you tell us anything about the Miner's Guild protest march tonight?" I made sure to bring my most brilliant smile to the table.

The faunus woman looked wary. "I'm not a miner. Why would I know?"

"You may not be, but I assume the White Fang has great interest in the event and I figured one of their supporters would be able to give me some pointers for what to expect. Or did they not inform you?"

She grit her teeth, and seemed like she wanted to move forward. I heard a low growl beside me, and gently flicked my wrist. It was a signal we hadn't ever vocally agreed on, but Ruby seemed to know my intent whenever I used it. _Wait._

Pretty sure the only reason it worked was because it also meant _soon._

Of course, the woman's upset feelings only served to drive Ruby's hunger higher. Just milkshake couldn't help much with that sort of hunger, and it had been several hours since the poor, miserable soul she'd played with all night expired. I stood partially in front of her, like a human shield for the faunus woman. I know the woman could tell who the boss was… and where the danger laid.

"I heard the Miner's Guild is holding a protest tonight," I said. "It seems strange, since they used to be quite docile. I am here with the interest of making sure the SDC and the Miner's Guild are on equal grounds in these trying times."

Her eyes flickered with doubt. Of course, an official from the SDC would go straight to the guild through proper channels, not seek out rumors and information like an undercover agent.

"Is this because of that man's death?" the rabbit spat.

"Assuming you mean Jacques Schnee, you would be correct. We believe his _tragic_ passing and the protest is very much connected."

The rabbit scoffed. "So this is your personal revenge, is it? Get back at White Fang because your dear daddy is no longer around."

"I suppose it can pass as that. White Fang did indeed claim the honor of his death. However, it was _I_ who killed my father."

Even I could feel the shock rolling off her at that. She must wonder why I told her, and whether or not I was even telling the truth. It was quite a spectacular statement, after all.

"It's what happens after a lifetime of force and suppression," I continued. "But do you know why father did what he did, why he eventually ended his sorry life at the hands of his own daughter? It should be quite obvious. Your… _people_ always troubled father. In fact, the White Fang is responsible for the murder of many of our allies and friends, and now they've indirectly caused the death of my family. Which is why I'd like to make sure the Miner's Guild knows their priorities, you see?"

The rabbit faunus backed off again and reached for her back. It didn't matter what weapon she kept hidden there, she never got to draw it before Ruby's fist smashed into her gut. The rabbit woman toppled over one of the clothes racks and fell in a jungle of textiles.

The redheaded demon jumped after her, slamming a knee into the woman's stomach. She grabbed one rabbit ear and pushed the woman's head down with the other hand.

"What are you doing?" The woman wheezed, eyes wide and begging as she stared up at me and Ruby, not knowing which one of us she should try to win over. Her eyes were glossed over by tears from pain and fear.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I would prefer less… direct methods, but Ruby hasn't eaten all day. With all this negativity floating around, she's starting to become rather _impatient_."

White Fang was a lot of things, but cowards they were not. I have to admit it stands respect of the way they seem adamant to act even in the most hopeless situation. Or was that just stupidity? Animalistic instincts? In either case, the woman roared and slipped her weapon out from beneath her – a gun-knife, which she raised at Ruby in an attempt to scare the girl off her.

Ruby merely knocked the weapon aside, didn't even care that the knife edge slashed the back of her hand open; it closed again within the second. Then she stomped on the woman's head with one foot and tugged at the rabbit ear with enough force to tear the flesh. A tortured scream split the air, but Ruby didn't stop. The muscles in her arm and back flexed as she continued to tear the ear off the base of the woman's skull. The screams grew in accordance, fingers desperately clawing at the demon's hand to try and pry it off, to no avail.

Rrrrr _iiiiip!_

With a mighty pull and a cry of pain the ear came loose. A splatter of blood rained across the store and pumped out of the remaining stump down the woman's hair and face. Ruby licked her lips and tossed the ear aside.

The crying woman took to sobbing in wake of her mutilation, and judging by Ruby's grin, the negative emotion she emitted was enough to sate her for a few minutes. Long enough for me to get some actual information. I walked up to the diseared shop owner and drew Myrtenaster with a singing metallic sound.

"This can be simple," I said, pointing the rapier at her throat, "or complicated. It's up to you."

"Please," she begged, already drenched in her own blood. "Please…!"

"Now what is it you'd like me to do?" I smiled cheerfully.

"Please get her off!"

I nodded at Ruby, whom scowled, but did as told. One, two steps. She stood there like a coiled spring, ready to leap back in at a moment's notice. Staring hungrily at the rabbit.

"Is the White Fang working with the Miner's Guild?" I asked.

"I-I only know they're planning a protest march this evening, and t-the White Fang are supporting them with security!"

"Security? Are they expecting opposition?"

Tears trailed down her cheeks. "I don't know! I'm sorry, I-I only show up at the rallies and get some orders…"

"Where will the protest take place?"

"D-Downtown by the mine… please, Miss Schnee, I only ever wanted to help my family!"

I met her gaze, and sighed. Panic laced her eyes, and Ruby hissed in response.

"No… no, please!" The woman began thrashing, trying to get on her feet, or to reach for me, I'm not sure which. "Please don't, I'm sorry, I never wanted to harm anyone, I just – I didn't know what to do!"

I met her gaze solemnly, and could tell the moment she realized her pleas would not be heard.

"I understand," I said. "And I am sorry too. This world we're living in… it's not a good place. I hope to change that." I nodded to Ruby.

The woman turned around and tried to back off, clambering along the floor and slipping in her own blood while wailing without words. I watched in morbid curiosity as Ruby stalked forward, grabbed the woman's other ear, pulled the woman's head back and gaped wide.

 _CRUNCH—_

Fangs and teeth dug into the rabbit's throat. Her cries abruptly halted, turned into pitiful gasps for air, and barely that. Even I could tell how terrified she was. Her eyes wide in shock, her fingers twitching in the last desperate moments. Ruby simply held her there, teeth deep in her neck and eyes glowing, until the body had finished soiling itself and the woman's mouth bubbled over with drool and blood.

A last hacking sob left her, and then the woman sagged. The body disintegrated until nothing remained, as always.

Ruby turned towards me and beamed.

"That was good!"

"I'm glad." And I wish I'd recorded this so I could rewind and watch it again.

Ah well. There'll be plenty more chances soon enough.

* * *

 **Happy new year!**


	8. Act 3: Chapter 8

**Act 3: Chapter 8**

"Tadaaaa!" The curtain pulled aside triumphantly.

"Too big, try the other one." I tried to sound unimpressed by Ruby's antics. In fact, the speed of which she switched from ruthless killer to cheerful _dolt_ was amazing. We had the store for ourselves now, the place was a mess – no police had shown up, and no White Fang for that matter.

The demon hung her arms. "Oh man, how many of these do I have to try?"

"At least until we find _one_ outfit that doesn't fall off you."

She glanced at the t-shirt that barely covered one of her shoulders and completely failed to hide the other, and groaned. Then she grabbed hold of the bottom of the shirt.

"Curtain!"

"We're the only ones here!" But she closed the curtain anyway. Really, this girl had no qualms about showing off her body at all! A bathhouse was one thing, but I was starting to believe that Ruby _would_ fight naked if it came down to it, and not care one bit. Did she never learn modesty or something?

"So we know there is in fact a protest tonight, the White Fang _will_ be involved, and they are expecting trouble," I said out loud in an effort to gather my thoughts. "Also, you've eaten, and are less likely to go on a rampage out of nowhere."

"Ehehehe~" she giggled from inside the curtain. Soon, she pulled it aside again, smoothing out the fabric of her latest outfit. A black pair of shorts with red lining, black stockings and a black sweater with a red heart. This could work, I guess, although the heart was a bit too sweet.

"Is it good?" Ruby asked.

"…it's acceptable." I gave the cape my best disapproving glare. Aside from bathing and sleeping, I don't think I'd ever seen her without it. Maybe I could _accidentally_ hit it with one of Myrtenaster's discharges.

Ruby lit up, and skipped past me with newfound glee. "Sooooooo what do you wanna do now? Should we go to the protest thingy?"

"Perhaps." I'm not yet sure what I wanted to achieve by going there. Randomly killing off some White Fang sure might be a great stress reliever, but what would the consequences be? I was fairly sure Ruby could handle those pesky beasts. If she couldn't, well… that was it.

I shuddered at the dark path my mind was heading down. So my choices were to kill or to die, and I did not feel anything about either option. I recognized that this was a dangerous place for my mind to be, but that was all the reaction I managed to muster.

Ruby rocked back and forth on her combat boots. "Ooooor do you wanna do something else first?"

I blinked out of my thoughts. "Like what?"

"Well, I dunno, like, something fun?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, and she probably got the meaning behind it, because she elaborated: "You know, like… catch a movie or, watch the stars, or something."

Okay, that's not what I expected.

"Why in the world would we do things like that?"

"I mean, that's what people do on dates, right?" She said, looking right at me with a tilted head.

"... _What?_ "

Now, she was the one who looked confused. "Isn't that what we're doing? I thought—"

"Don't! Don't think! Oh my god, Ruby, this isn't a date!"

For a second she just looked confused, but then she actually hung her head. Like a beaten puppy or something, the girl just kind of deflated. I heaved a deep breath, and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Why was this happening to me?

"Alright. _What_ made you think this is a _date_?" I mean, if this is what her definition of a date is, I dread to think what a wedding looks like in her head.

"Well," she drawled, "we've been doing all these datey things," _which things!?_ "and you showed me that binder, and I thought that meant you wanted to, maybe, have something more than the partnership we agreed on, or something?"

My face was slowly heating up beneath my hand. I _did_ show her that binder, full of silly relationship rules. But I'd thought – I don't know. I'd just tried to bring some sense of normalcy into this crazy situation! It was a stupid idea to begin with, and the entire thing was an idiotic thing my father had introduced anyway. I just didn't know what else to do!

"Y-You kissed me." I stared through my fingers at the heart on her chest and immediately decided it was too childish. Skulls, flames and thorns seemed more Rubyish. Too bad this place had nothing like it.

"I – that was – I was—"

"Okay stop stuttering, this is insane! Ruby, what _are_ we really? Do you – do you _want_ to have that sort of relationship?"

"Do _you_?"

"I'm asking _you_."

"But Weiss, you're the boss!"

Really!?

"No! If we're doing this, it's going to be because we _both_ want to. I refuse to be straddled with all of the responsibility. We're partners, yes, but you're the one who took it all a step further back at the convention. Did that mean nothing to you?"

"I, uh, don't really remember it that well," Ruby said, unknowingly aggravating me even more. She was so interested in everyone else, but I wanted Ruby to hunger for _me_ , to _want_ me, and it was the strangest feeling I'd ever had, and not only because it was most likely the unhelathiest thing I could want ever.

"Then start remembering, you fool." I pushed all my anger and disappointment at her. Like particles in the air or something. Maybe if she breathed in my foul mood, something would change.

"Well, I do remember parts of it… I mean, I really remember, um, your taste…" her voice trailed off and my ears began burning hot. Grinding my teeth, I walked over, stopping just inches from her face. She fidgeted like a trapped cat, and when I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into the changing room, she didn't resist. Her back hit the mirror, which shuddered on impact. Our eyes locked on each other.

And now what? Kiss her? Tell her to kiss me? I guess what I really wanted was for her to make a move, to claim me like she did back then. I wanted a clear and defined answer as to what the term _partner_ covered.

But before any of us could make another move, the door to the store banged open and three masked faunus poured inside the store.

"Yohoooo! Let's get going already, boss is waiting!"

Of all the terrible times to interrupt something! I had halfway turned to give the interrupter a piece of my mind when I caught Ruby's expression in the corner of my eye. Her attention had snapped to the newcomers and her eyes glowed with eager.

Sigh.

"Go on then." I resigned myself to picking up this topic at another time. As soon as I spoke, my hands ceased to hold onto anything solid. Ruby was gone, and within a second's time, the faunus in the white mask slammed into the floor with a scythe bisecting half his torso. Ashes swirled into the air around Ruby as her latest victim vanished.

"What the hell!?" The other two backed away from the demon and raised their weapons. Seemed like our helpful shop owner hadn't been entirely truthful about how involved she was after all.

The air around Ruby throbbed with eager, nearly coating the store with tangible hunger. The two remaining White Fang faunus looked at each other.

And bolted.

Ruby looked at me as if asking for permission.

"After them!" I called, already moving. Ruby burst out the door, throwing the entire thing off its hinges. The White Fangs shrieked and fired at her, but nothing seemed to hurt that cloud of ashes. Suddenly Ruby was between them, the scythe catching one around the hip. His scream echoed through the street as the massive weapon pulled him off his feet, only to crash into his startled companion. As they both tumbled to the ground in a heap, Ruby deftly adjusted the scythe's angle and slammed the biting edge into a chest.

The unlucky sacrifice shrieked in pain while hot blood pooled around him. The second faunus hiccupped and scrambled away on his hands and feet, mask askew and weapon abandoned.

So, even White Fang recognized a superior predator.

I raised Myrtenaster and focused. I'd done this before, with Winter, and lately in my own training. A glyph appeared beneath my feet and the second I moved, a new one appeared in stride. Faster and faster. I dashed forward while my semblance worked in the back of my mind, summoning the glyphs I needed as I moved. Within seconds I overtook the man and _pierced_!

Like it was mocking me, Myrtenaster merely brushed past his neck as if I'd meant to gently caress him. My speed had been too high for me to hit a small target like his throat! I stumbled past him, luckily he was too panicked to try and lash out at me and just scrambled away. I heard giggling and turned furiously towards Ruby.

"Don't laugh!"

"But you're so cute!"

"Shut up!" Flushing brightly, I readied Myrtenaster again and faced the White Fang. He'd gotten to his feet and stumbled along the street, away from us. I gritted my teeth and spun Myrtenaster's barrel.

One blue glyph appeared before me and launched a blue lance of ice dust after the man. Bigger target this time: His back. Aiming with dust was hard though! It exploded against his ankle instead, but it was enough to trip him. With his foot encased in ice he fell, shrieking in fear.

Finally. This was already far too embarrassing. Hitting immobile targets in an empty backyard was really different from fighting a real person. Well, faunus. Well… _fighting_. It was more like lowkey hunting.

He struggled to pull his foot loose from the frozen ground, so I didn't try to speed over with glyphs again, taking to walk instead. As I stood over him with Myrtenaster at the ready, he looked at me with tearful eyes – young, maybe in his twenties, and whiskers like a cat.

Disgusting.

"Please don't!" He begged pathetically.

I slashed his face. A bloody red line down his cheek, reminiscent of my own throbbing wound. He yelped, and I slashed again. Ripping new wounds in his skin; face, shoulders, arms, neck, he was soon bleeding from several gashes. No aura to shield or heal him.

How dare he. Join an organization whose only purpose was to hurt. And not even having the skills to fight. My slashes grew angrier, harder. His yelps and sobs grew weaker as he curled on the ground. His clothes in tatters. His skin gaping. I didn't stop, not until someone grabbed my hand and I looked up in fury, meeting Ruby's silver eyes.

"What!?" I snapped.

She leaned in. I jerked at first, but her hand raised to hold my head, keeping me from moving too far. Her lips caught mine and her sharp canines nipped at my skin. Eager. There was an anxious energy behind the intimacy, as if she tried to breathe and taste and devour me all at once.

Heat radiated from her body and melted my insides. Deep thrums pulsated within my guts, spreading like oxygen through my blood. I kissed back, angrily, almost hissing into her mouth. She responded with a growl, as though we were animals conversing over a kill, and I pushed her away as hard as I could.

"I wasn't done!"

Instead of protesting my abrupt rejection, Ruby looked flushed, breathing heavily, and the glow in her eyes flickered like the flame of a candle. Hunger and bloodlust thrummed in the air around us. Whispers and fear.

I finally realized we weren't alone. We'd gathered an audience, however reluctant, watching us from street corners and from within windows and doorways. The thick fog hid us from eyes, not ears, and finally, we had their attention.

Well then, let's reward their curiosity. I stepped forward and stabbed Myrtenaster into the faunus's chest, pushing the blade past ribs and muscle with a grunt. His pitiful crying turned to hacking gasps, and he stared up at me as though he couldn't believe his eyes.

When I yanked Myrtenaster back out, a gush of blood followed. Soon, ash did too.

I see. If I end someone, it counts as Ruby's kill. It was as if my blade spread some kind of infection.

The reaction of our crowd was unmistakable. Unsettled whispers, fearful retreat into the fog. The woman in the window above us closed the curtains, as if that would stop us from getting inside.

It would be so easy to let loose and just _kill them all_. To hear them scream and plead and—I shook my head, disturbed at the sudden eager I found within me.

"Ruby, we need to go."

Never mind a few grunts, but if some higher ranking members were to come our way, we might end up at a disadvantage.

But Ruby didn't move, still staring at the spot where our latest kill had been moments ago. I swear I could feel her hunger inflate by the second.

"Ruby." When she didn't immediately respond, I grabbed Ruby by the hand and pulled her along. We ran down the narrow streets, ducking past the onlookers too slow to move out of the way. Soon the fog swallowed the scene behind us, leaving only those perplexed by the screams they'd heard. And after a while, nobody around us seemed to have noticed anything wrong. It was only a matter of time.

I stopped at a crossroad to gather my bearings and turned towards Ruby to check if she were okay. Instead I crashed into her, when some passerby bumped into me harshly.

"Hey!" Ruby growled.

"Huh?" The gruff voice of a woman answered. I looked up; an entire group of people had stopped to watch us. Oh wonderful, another pack.

"You bumped into her, so you should apologize!" Ruby held me tightly, almost _too_ tight. I grabbed her wrist and eased her grip off of me before something snapped.

The woman snorted and her friends laughed. They all wore telltale miner's clothes completely full of black dirt and was that _dust_ stuck on the fabric? Did they have no safety regulations? Some of them carried hatches and helmets, even ropes and tool belts, as if they were on their way to work. The woman herself wore a ragged dirty miner's jacket, and must have been three times Ruby's size. On her head was a couple of curled horns that looked like they could smash rock.

Beneath them, her eyes widened as she looked at me. "Hey, aren't you the Schnee girl? Wow, you've got guts, walking around in the open with your dog on a leash after what happened to your father."

I was about to answer when there was a whizz, and suddenly a spark. The woman's jacket burst into flame.

"What the—!?" She yelled and tore it off, tossing it to the ground where it continued to burn out harmlessly. Nobody tried to put it out; dust fire wasn't handled that easily.

I didn't need to look at Ruby to know her eyes were glowing.

"I suppose safety regulations are failing if you walk around with dust residue on your clothes. I will have to report this to the board." I allowed a small smirk into my voice.

"Shut up!" She snarled at me, only to take a step back when Ruby growled right back. The demon's arm trembled beneath my grip, but the miner scoffed. "What, is this supposed to scare me?"

Ruby's voice was just a hiss. "Leave. Weiss. Alone."

Even _my_ neck hairs stood on end now.

The woman clicked her tongue.

"Not worth my time." Strategic, if nothing else, the woman threw one last look at her burning jacket, grimaced, and turned to leave, pulling her little group of friends with her. They kept casting a few looks back at Ruby and her flecked teeth, until they vanished into the fog.

Ruby still bristled, glaring after the faunus. I touched her shoulder and she twirled around, eyes alight with fury.

"She didn't even apologize!"

"I'm sure she's more than willing to do so if you rip off her horns first."

Ruby's expression turned thoughtful. Before she could get any ideas and run off on me, I grabbed her hand.

"Think they're going to the miner's guild event?"

Her eyes lit up with glee and I took that for a yes, pulling her along.

"Let's follow them."

Behind us, a noisy banter was growing. I had my suspicions that our little show back there had finally attracted enough attention to actually have someone come for us, though I'm sure explaining the total lack of bodies was difficult even for eye witnesses.

Our objective lay ahead however, not back there. We followed the direction the miners had taken. As we walked, the streets became wider, less occupied, though still framed by steep cliffs and mountains. It was like walking through a tunnel with no ceiling. At least it kept the freezing winds out.

Soon, the creaks and crevices opened into a wide open space cluttered with worker barracks, machines with massive drills and shovels, storage facilities and containers with the SDC logo. There was even a landing pad for transport ships. In the very middle of all the spectacle that made up Mantle's main source of income, a crater vanished into the earth's innards. It was the entrance to the mine, which spiraled down into the depths of Remnant. These days you had to go quite a bit down to even find any dust.

A large crowd had gathered by a makeshift podium that consisted of a rickety staircase and an empty container. Around it, buildings rose up and created an array of makeshift alleyways. There were even press folks present.

With the dwindling light and the thick fog, the place looked like the perfect place for a murder spree.

"Any sign of the White Fang?" I murmured in Ruby's direction. Her silvery eyes flicked back and forth, a crease forming between her brows.

"I can't tell. They all smell the same."

"What an awful thing to say."

Her lips pulled into a grin. "Doesn't matter what they smell like, I'll just let Crescent Rose eat them for me~"

Her childish glee was both exasperating and welcome.

Behind us, the crowd grew even larger. Given the amount of faunus gathering here, I could only imagine how many watched from the safety of their own homes. There was a camera team recording the happenings on air.

But no SDC representatives. Why would they neglect showing up at something like this? They must have lost their touch along with father, and it was annoying as hell.

After a while, a woman climbed the rickety staircase to stand on the container, calling out in order to gather everyone's attention. Below them, a couple of masked faunus walked up to stand like silent statues. Large and muscular, mostly for show but I bet they can put up a fight too. Not like the weaklings back there.

"Thank you all for coming!" the woman atop the container spoke, attracting the attention of the onlookers as well as cameras. "As you may all know, we spent most of yesterday trying to get in contact with the SDC's board of directors. We're gathered here today because… well, we failed."

Quiet murmur spread among the listeners.

"After the death of Jacques Schnee, the company has only increased the pressure on their workers, demanding longer shifts on the floating islands and fewer hands in the underground tunnels, both of which are safety regulations we worked hard to implement in the first place. We in the Miner's Guild has sworn to uphold our rights and demand better treatment, but now they refuse to even meet us. Therefore, we need to show our will in other ways. They cannot continue treating us like slaves!"

A rumble of general agreement spread among the crowd. Ruby nudged me, pointing my attention in the direction of one of the alleys between the barracks. Two more masked faunus, not as imposing as the ones up front, but clearly armed. On the other side, too. A few of them looked at their scrolls and began scanning the crowd.

Word travels fast, I suppose.

"They're looking for someone." I didn't feel particularly worried. So far I'd seen nothing that could possibly stop Ruby. Said girl grinned in response, scanning the crowd which continued to show their support to the Miner's Guild representative. The faunus around us seemed riled up, angry and worried. Of course Ruby would enjoy herself.

"What should we do?" Ruby asked.

"Can you take out a few masked ones without raising suspicion?" I asked, eyeing her and trying to gauge her stealth ability. "Actually, nevermind."

"What? I can totally do that!" She responded, indignant.

"With that giant fork of yours?"

"I can do a lot of cool things besides that," she insisted, jutting her lips out in a pout.

"Don't pout."

"But—"

"Okay, show me then. What _cool_ things can you do, aside from cleaving people in two and setting off fire dust?"

Ruby lit up, and vanished in a puff of ashes. Alright, I guess that was an order from my side. We could take out any White Fang members here and now. Most likely, it'd lead to us becoming a target for the rest of the organization and subsequently leading us even deeper into the depths of their ranks. Perhaps not their main commander, but in time…

It came with a risk, but at this point, that didn't really matter.

I waited for Ruby's _cool_ things to happen when a static sound cut through the air, and a voice boomed from above.

"This is Blue Two, Atlas fleet. Protesters, please dissolve the riot in a calm and orderly manner! I repeat, this is Blue Two…"

A riot? A woman speaking to a bunch of ragged miners from the top of a container? Sure, there were White Fang guards, but calling this a _riot_ was too much.

The voice droned on, but nobody really reacted, as if they didn't know what to do. Then, the droids dropped down through the fog. All around us, Atlesian Knights landed, clunky machinery screeching and whizzing as they moved to aim their firearms at the crowd.

What in the world are they doing? This was military forces!

"This is your last warning!"

 _KLAAAAAANG!_

My head snapped around towards the podium. A massive construction had just dropped from the sky. Like the knights, it was a mechanized combat droid, but far bigger and controlled by a pilot from within. It was crude, inelegant, naked wires and joints glaringly exposed, and the pilot himself protected by a cockpit made of metal plates and glass. I'd seen something similar at the fateful convention a while back.

An Atlesian paladin. _Here?_

It marched forward, right through the crowd with its mechanical movement.

"What is _that_!?" Now the reaction came. Panic, pure and uncontrolled, as the White Fang raised their weapons and fired, and the mechanical knights moved in to intercept.

What in the world were they doing? Why was the military here? These were miners. Miners who'd wanted to express their wants for better treatment by the SDC!

This was far too much for a simple faunus protest. Could the reason they brought in the paladin and other forces be that they wanted to draw out the White Fangs? Of course, the White Fang would be set on protecting the miners; most of them probably were miners themselves or had family as such.

"This is your last warning," the voice from the sky boomed. "Stand down!"

One White Fang pulled out a dust cocktail and lit it, but he never got as far as to throw the thing. The knights nearest to his position reacted to the threat as expected – by shooting him down. Within seconds he was peppered with gunshots, and both he and the cocktail went down in a hail of bullets.

Then it exploded.

Then the _rest_ of his cocktails exploded.

Body parts and flames struck out in every direction. Cold and ice didn't matter – dust would burn no matter what. The explosive force washed across the grounds and flung people off their feet, scorching exposed skin and lighting clothes on fire. Even from a distance the heat pulled at my freshly healed wound and stung against my skin, but my aura held, at least long enough for me to summon a glyph. With gritted teeth, I stepped onto the white circular symbol, and summoned one more, just a little higher. It took all I had, but soon, a staircase of glyphs helped me up and over the flames, on top of a barracks.

I stopped to catch my breath. I still couldn't see the airship above the fog, but below me, everything was in chaos. People shrieked, some caught by the flames, some by stray bullets, others fleeing or huddling behind containers and barracks, nursing their wounds. Dead and dying White Fangs attempted to escape the inferno, and Ruby – _where are you!?_

The panic around us sweltered. It pushed and thrummed against my mind. Each breath scathing, filling my lungs with the air of despair. My hand shook as I clenched Myrtenaster tighter.

 _This is ridiculous…_

 _Fwooosh!_ A wind of ashes blasted out of the flames towards the makeshift podium – and the paladin. I jumped across the barrack's roof to another, anxious to keep up. Down below, Ruby launched herself at the paladin, skewering the flimsy metal plates protecting the pilot and probably him, too. Using her scythe like a can opener, she forced the metal to bend apart, revealing the cockpit with the dying pilot. As he vanished to smoke, Ruby gleefully slid into the driver's seat instead.

"Weiss!" She yelled, somehow steering the paladin to swivel around and knocking a bunch of knights off their feet in the process. The paladin swung its arm forward, which popped open and let loose a flurry of rockets, all which exploded into the ground and sent knights and miners flying.

I used another glyph to launch myself in her direction, planting Myrtenaster into a joint on the paladin.

"This. Is. Awesome!"

"You idiot! What are you doing?! Now they're all going to attack _us_!"

"Come on Weiss, let's play!" She shouted up at me and yanked at the controls. The paladin jerked and I shrieked again, flung along on the wild ride. Gravity dust, don't fail me now. I summoned a black glyph at my feet and felt my body stabilize, thankfully. There was no control, no plan, just impulse and childish glee. The machine jerked this way and that, smashing into the podium and buckling the metal, scattering the faunus like mice. Ruby laughed and giggled, and somehow moved the machine into a run. The one faunus she'd set her sights on wailed and cried, but didn't get far before he tripped in his panicked flee.

"Aaaaand smash!" Ruby triumphed as the paladin stomped down on the faunus's waist, crushing him beneath the metal foot. His cries magnified, and Ruby's shoulders shook with mirth. She swirled her head around to find a new target. From behind, some of the White Fangs moved closer to us. One of them raised a rocket launcher.

Before I could even open my mouth, three Atlesian knights bashed into them, knocked them down with their guns, and then, as if they couldn't agree who should get the kill, the knights proceeded to shoot _at each other._

"What in the world is going on? The robots are attacking themselves?"

"Hehehehe!" Ruby's gleeful giggle told me everything I needed to know.

" _You_ did that?"

"I messed with their panels a little! Oooh, I see the woman with the horns! Aw they're so cool!"

Ruby turned the robot around and gleefully tore through throngs of people. The grumpy miner we ran into earlier had picked up a weapon too; though not wearing a mask, she joined the White Fang in firing at us while screaming profanities.

"Rude!" Ruby yelled, and the woman's yelling ended in a gurgle when the paladin's massive hands slammed into her from either side. Crushed like a nut, guts and goo exploding out of every opening in her body. Then tossed aside like a used rag. Her body began disintegrating before it hit the ground.

"Wait, what?" I asked, staring as the rude woman vanished into thin air. Neither Crescent Rose nor Ruby's teeth had killed off that one – nor me, for that matter. "Why are they disintegrating?"

"Cause they're dead!"

"Yes, but – wait, is this…?" I remembered something from a book I'd studied as part of my huntress self-education. For someone whose aura was unlocked, it would extend to their weapon as well, protecting it from harm and empowering it.

What if Ruby's worked the same way? Right now, this massive thing doubled as her weapon!

A whining noise alerted me to the incoming missiles.

"Watch out!" I ducked, but the paladin's arm rose to block the explosive force and only the heat washed over me. Concentrating on keeping my aura up, I grit my teeth and hung on.

The flames had spread to cover the barracks around us, confining us within the heat. Slowly but surely the structures weakened under the dust-based fire, but at least the ground itself was no longer a death trap.

White Fang, civilian faunus and Atlesian military forces, nobody was saved from our rampage with Ruby's new weapon of choice. Even if she didn't know the controls, Ruby made quick work of anyone approaching, either by stomping or slamming them down or even accidentally knocking them aside. I covered her blind spots as best I could, but in truth there wasn't much to do. Most of them were busy fighting each other.

When actual human soldiers started dropping from the sky, my ears already pounded with adrenaline.

"Ruby! Incoming above!"

"Gotcha!" She pulled a lever and the paladin swung its arm up, letting loose another volley of missiles. Several soldiers were blasted out of the sky before they could even land. I couldn't even tell if they disintegrated or not – right now it didn't seem like Ruby cared. Her inhuman eyes glinted with glee and exhilaration as more and more destruction spread around us.

The paladin jerked around again and I nearly toppled over, my glyph breaking under the slip of concentration. The only thing holding me on was my own death grip.

"Ruby!" I chastised, flushed from exhaustion and anger, "Keep this thing on its feet!"

"It's not me!" She pulled some levers and pushed some buttons and suddenly, the paladin lunged forward. With a cry I fell to the ground. Almost immediately, a faunus jumped at me, mouth open in an animalistic snarl and eyes wild with rage. I reacted by pulling my arms up. His leap missed – or rather, he never finished the attack and simply sailed on past me, hitting the ground with a heavy thump.

Confused, I sat up and looked at him, deciding he was either dead or dying, judging by the blood pooling from his neck.

"I need you to come with me now, Weiss Schnee."

My head turned so fast it nearly gave me a whiplash. In front of me stood another Atlesian military personnel – but this one was a cadet, a student, not a fully fledged Specialist. A small knife vanished from her hand with a flick of her wrist. She wore a marina blue skirt and a hat I vaguely recognized.

"You're…"

"Ciel Soleil, at your service." She bowed formally. "And Penny Polendina. We are here to escort you back to Atlas."

"….." I clenched Myrtenaster, but rather than fight my head turned to find Ruby. A massive clamor pulled our attention. The paladin – with Ruby in it – was wrecking its way throughout the area, trying to smash her new opponent: The orange-haired girl with the swords.

My veins froze over.

It wasn't a fight, it was a tease. Just when it looked like the paladin would smash the little girl to pieces, she simply smacked the giant arm away. Then the swords whipped around and spun around the paladin's legs. When the girl yanked her arm back, the entire thing tripped and toppled over.

While the paladin smashed into the ground, the swords gathered in front of Penny and began spinning. The hairs on my arms stood on edge; the force in that thing was immense. It glowed a sickly green and its hum shook the ground.

Ruby vanished from the cockpit just in time. The greenish beam of power exploded forth and all but incinerated the massive metallic robot. Blinding us with the intensity. I blinked desperately, and saw Ruby reappearing behind Penny with her scythe at the ready. She swung – and was parried by one of the swords.

An intense exchange of blows followed, speeds the likes of which I'd never seen. But, impressive as it was, there was no doubt as to who would emerge victorious. My aura was already straining, flickering across my body as if it were taking the heavy blows directly.

Beside me, Ciel looked at her wristwatch. I could try and stab her, make a run for it. And what good would it be? That gingerhead would just follow and there was no way I could fight her off.

Ruby was struggling, and what was I doing?

I got to my feet, raising Myrtenaster despite the sweat running from my brow.

"What are you going to do to us?" I asked, feeling the tugs of my aura as Ruby used everything she had. Strike, slash, clang of metal. The girl in front of me had no visible weapon, but I knew better than to assume she was unarmed. I'd seen that knife earlier, and she probably had more than one.

"That is for the General to decide," she answered.

General Ironwood was behind this?

"You did all this just to catch us?"

She didn't even blink. It creeped me out. "You believe we would go to these lengths to get to you? No, this was for the Schnee Dust Company. As you may know, the Atlas government has seized control of the company."

Cold ice pooled into my stomach. "What?"

"With your sister Winter at the head of the company, it was a simple matter of negotiations. Of course, no one wants the Miner's Guild to disturb the process, so we were sent out to set an example. Finding you was just a bonus."

No way. Winter wouldn't do this. Winter wasn't like father!

"So, will you come with us now, Miss Schnee?"

"You know," I said, trying to sound steadier than I felt, "this is not how I imagined my entrance exams to play out."

She was not amused. Me neither, really. And I was getting nowhere, and real fast. I had to decide. Ruby was at her limit, parrying and deflecting more than attacking, getting caught by cords and pulling out of it while the swords struck at her face and arms. She might have loaded up on energy, but soon enough my aura would run out.

Penny was simply too strong.

With a cry of defiance, I swung my weapon and lunged, only to be brutally knocked down. Ciel didn't even attack, just ducked under my slash, knocked my weapon aside with her arm, and drove a fist into my cheekbone. It _hurt._

"Weiss!" Ruby's voice reached me, seconds before a clamor of metal against metal. Using the cords on her swords and her ridiculous strength, Penny yanked the scythe from Ruby's grip. It span through the air like a deadly fan and hit one of the burning barracks, digging itself into the wood. Now Ruby was grappling with Penny bare-handed, trying to get closer to me. Penny's swords hovered around her, ready to strike, and trapping her limbs in the cords.

We couldn't win this fight. If they wanted us dead, we'd already be.

They'd just do whatever they had to to get to me.

I made a decision.

"Ruby, scatter!"

Her eyes widened, lips pulling into a snarl, and Penny's grip on her arms tightened. I expected her to defy me, to fight tooth and nail until she was ripped apart once more, but as our eyes met… Ruby's gaze burned into mine, a silent promise. Then, she vanished in a puff of ashes.

"Oh!" Penny blinked twice.

I released a gasp of air, sweat drops rolling off my skin.

"A tactical retreat," Ciel stated.

"I won't let you murder her." Again. I couldn't risk end up in another situation where Ruby wouldn't be by my side. At least now, I knew she was safe.

As for me? If I knew what to expect, I may have reconsidered my decision then and there.

XXX

Board meetings were oddly reminiscent of the battlefield. If there ever was a war to be waged using wits and sharp tongues, they'd be better off sending board members and business men off to the frontline.

Whether or not weapons were deployed, Winter was trained in confrontations like these. In many ways, the board meeting offered a more intricate and interesting challenge than the mere action of stabbing an opponent. They weren't out to kill each other, but to outsmart.

And they'd already been one step ahead of her.

Twelve men and women in sharp business suits eyed her from their seats at the table. Twelve people with quite personal interests in the entire SDC scandal.

"Miss Schnee, we are happy to have you onboard, however there are a few worries we have to address before going onwards."

"Jacques's passing is a terrible tragedy; naturally there will be repercussions from such a dramatic change in the company. People expect us to act in accordance."

"We need a strong and secure leadership role in order to keep the company together. Also, we need to show our employees that the SDC is in sure hands for many years to come. Seeing what can happen to heirs and leaders, people are getting worried that we are too vulnerable."

"Which is why, after our last emergency board meeting, we've spoken to James about a governmental takeover."

"What?" Winter felt like she stood naked before them, completely stripped of all impact. "General Ironwood?"

"He didn't tell you?" Their eyes bore into her.

He hadn't mentioned it at all!

"There is a general consensus amongst this board that we should perform a vote on whether or not the Schnee Dust Company should cease to be a private organization and allow the government to take more direct control."

"This is to secure the company and will open for more direct trade agreements with the other Kingdoms, as well as access to more security forces now that we know the White Fang is a real threat. Jacques fought against this for years; I assume you're not of the same position?"

All eyes were on her, and Winter felt the slow, cold realization seep into her.

She was trapped.


End file.
